SAVOY — The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District Board has decided to commit $20,000 to help Willard Airport secure leisure service to a new destination.
The University of Illinois, which owns the airport, has offered a first-come, first-served minimum revenue guarantee of $500,000 for service to any airport in Florida, Phoenix or Las Vegas.
Willard officials have been working to raise a community match of $500,000 so the airport can offer a total minimum revenue guarantee of at least $1 million.
In addition to the amount provided by the university, commitments from other public entities — including the MTD, Champaign, Urbana, Savoy and Champaign County — total $180,000.
According to airport director Tim Bannon, the university has committed that its funds will be used first ahead of the community match, and any leftover community funds will be returned.
In addition to public entities, he said that the airport has met with over 30 private stakeholders, though they cannot make any funding announcements regarding those conversations at this time.
Bannon added that that while the airport’s initial deadline for funding commitments was April 1, they are still accepting contributions and will continue to do so even after meeting with airlines on May 21 and 22.
“Until the contract is signed with an incoming airline, this process remains ongoing,” he told the MTD Board on Wednesday.
MTD Board member Alan Nudo said that while he supports the minimum revenue guarantee, he does not think the incentive should be a one-time project. Instead, he would like to see the MTD, university and other entities consider the airport’s needs every year and see if they need to replenish the fund.
Bannon replied that while he could not speak for the university’s plans, Willard officials feel that it is best to focus on meeting their present goal before moving on to the next.
“Building on success is a very good strategy,” he said. “Building money today, having a successful campaign, successfully recruiting and starting and sustaining an airline — I think that’ll bring us to that next problem of, ‘How do we get the next one going?’”
“Your approach is correct,” Nudo said. “I just hope that the university looks at it from rather than a one-time commitment at this point to a longer-term thought process, because they’re representing the entire community. If they own the airport, they have to look at what the entire population wants.”
