Security cancels MacDill air show

Officials are hoping to resume the Air Fest next year, but say now the base should be focused on terrorism.

By BILL VARIAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 9, 2002

TAMPA -- At a time when patriotism is overflowing, MacDill Air Force Base officials said Friday they must cancel one of Tampa Bay's biggest displays of red, white and ooh.

Officials said they are scuttling the enormously popular two-day Air Fest in April because of security concerns and the need to stay focused on terrorism.

"We love having Air Fest," Brig. Gen. Wayne Hodges, commander of the 6th Air Mobility Wing, said in a written statement. "It was a hard decision to make because the American people have shown incredible military support since Sept. 11."

But the military needs to concentrate on the task at hand, he said, "which is supporting the nation's war on terrorism."

The event would have taken away too much of the base's parking space, which already accommodates 75,000 cars a day. And other possible locations -- Clearwater Beach received serious consideration -- presented their own logistical and security concerns.

Besides, Hodges said, an Air Fest elsewhere just wouldn't be the same.

"We're hoping we'll be able to continue the Air Fest tradition in 2003," said Capt. Ken Hoffman, a MacDill spokesman.

With the nation and the Tampa Bay region riding a patriotic wave since Sept. 11, this year's air show was sure to be well-attended. MacDill is the location of Central Command, where the war on terrorism is being coordinated.

But even without that backdrop, the Air Fest typically drew close to 1-million people who happily clambered in and around fighter jets, bombers and gunships as precision flying teams performed overhead.

The event lured visitors from around the region, as well as top U.S. Air Force brass. It was a major boon to local hotels and restaurants.

"We're certainly disappointed that they're not going to have it, but we can certainly understand the reasons why," said Steve Hayes, executive vice president for the Tampa Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Clearwater officials greeted the news that MacDill was passing on a beach show with a mixture of disappointment and relief.

MacDill considered staging the show along a 4-mile stretch of the beach and locating an event center area around Pier 60 near the traffic roundabout. The display of planes and equipment that normally accompanies the show would have been shelved.

But that many visitors flocking to the already crowded beach front would have created huge traffic headaches and inconvenienced residents.

"It would have been nice to have a Clearwater Air Fest," said Clearwater Mayor Brian Aungst, who learned of the base's decision from Hodges on Thursday. But in terms of logistics, he said, "it would have been a nightmare. I thought he made the right decision with everything that's going on today."

In addition to traffic and crowd control problems, a beach site would create a venue with unlimited points of entry.

"That option brought a whole range of new security issues and support problems we could not afford," Hodges said.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright