No Commercial Service, No Need For Field?

Aero-News has learned that the Steamboat Springs (CO) City Council will consider closure of Bob Adams Field/Steamboat Springs Airport at a meeting Tuesday night.

The issue arises as the airport is in need of a new Master Plan for its development. The Colorado Aviation News reports the last plan was created in 1998, and it needs to be updated -- at a cost of around $250,000, with the FAA footing over half the bill and the state picking up an additional $30,000.

One council member, however, questions the need for an airport in the first place. Councilwoman Susan Dellinger wants the option of closing the airport considered.

The last scheduled commercial flight departed SBS in 1995. Today, commercial traffic favors nearby Yampa Valley Regional Airport (HDN), 16 nautical miles to the west.

That means Bob Adams Field -- which features a 4,450' x 100' runway, and is located in the heart of Rocky Mountain skiing country -- is a GA-only mecca (albeit a snowy one, and prone to crosswinds.)

Despite a lack of commercial traffic, the field also contributes $7.5 million annually to the state and local economies, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. The airport also generates about 116 jobs, including two full-time and four part-time jobs at the city-owned FBO.

So... what's approximately $95,000 -- roughly the cost of Steamboat Spring's total investment in a new Master Plan -- against $7.5 million? Even taking our natural pro-airport bias out of the equation (wait a sec... okay, done) simple math would seem to support keeping the airport open... right?

In fact, the math has already been done, as recently as three years ago. A study prepared by the Yampa Valley Airport Commission (of which Dellinger is a member) said both the commission and the FAA supported keeping both airports open.

The 2003 study also said that closing SBS would result in costs as high as $18.8 million, factoring in such expenses as relocating current SBS tenants to Yampa Valley, paying back FAA grant money and expected legal costs of fighting such organizations as AOPA.

Closing SBS would also result in approximately $4.5 million in economic damage to the area, according to the 2003 study.

"It appears that there is no economic, social or safety justification to consider closing Bob Adams and consolidating all aeronautical activity at YVRA," the study determined. "In fact, it appears that the risks of doing so far out-weigh any benefits."

"...The current two-airport model, using Bob Adams and Yampa Valley Regional in a complementary manner, is in the best overall interests of the Community," the 2003 commission found.

So... what's changed since then? We're not sure. The meeting is scheduled for 5 pm Tuesday night... and while no vote is expected then, ANN expects to hear more on this issue. Stay tuned.

FMI: www.airnav.com/airport/KSBS