Airports put out welcome mats for Super Bowl visitors

TERRE HAUTE — For those flying, the road to the NFL’s Super Bowl in Indianapolis in February may start in Terre Haute or in Greencastle.

Terre Haute International Airport-Hulman Field and the Putnam County Airport are among 17 airports included in the event’s aviation subcommittee. Those airports are listed as additional landing sites outside of Indianapolis.

Among amenities touted by the Terre Haute airport:

• A control tower open 24/7.

• An instrument landing system.

• De-icing machines for planes and runways.

• Its own snow removal, and

• Three landing strips — Runway 15/23 is 9,020 feet long and 150 feet wide; Runway 14/32 is 7,200 feet long and 150 feet wide; and Runway 18/36 is 4,000 feet long and 150 feet wide.

The airport’s fixed-base operation, or fuel station, is now under private management with Hoosier Aviation. The airport now gets a per-gallon fee, rental fee and landing fees collected from Hoosier Aviation. As part of that sale, a remodeling effort started in December on part of the airport’s terminal building.

The renovation includes new floor tile and a cherry-finish bamboo floor. All of the bathrooms are being completely redone and a new pilot rest area is being added. A round-stone countertop is being added for customer service representatives for rental car carriers, and offices for Hoosier Aviation are being renovated.

“It is cosmetic to some degree. The brick will be dry-walled and the ceiling will be painted a flat black, to hide what is on the ceiling,” said airport Director Dennis Wiss.

The airport is paying $150,000 and Hoosier Aviation is contributing the remainder of the remodeling project, estimated to cost at least $250,000. The work is expected to be completed this month.

“Right now, we have absolutely no idea how many aircraft we will get. Our plan is for 80-plus overflow aircraft that cannot be handled at other airports,” Wiss said.

“Several of our advantages include we have the fourth-longest runway in the state and the third-longest of the airports in the Super Bowl plan. I think we are still in the running for a lot of airplanes,” he said, adding pilots are encouraged to make reservations at the airport, which is about an hour’s drive from Indianapolis.

Terre Haute’s airport has initial parking area for 67 aircraft with wingspans of 49 to 79 feet. Wiss said the airport has five other areas in which planes can be parked, so the airport has plenty of capacity.

John Layne, airport manager of the Putnam County Airport, said it is too early to determine how many planes might use the much smaller airport adjacent to Greencastle, about a 45- to 60-minute drive to Indianapolis.

“It all depends on who is playing in the Super Bowl,” Layne said. “Nobody has made a reservation and we have had no calls for reservations. We will meet again in a couple of weeks for another Super Bowl planning meeting.”

Layne said if both teams playing in the Super Bowl are a distance from Indianapolis, then more corporate jets are likely to fly into the area. However, if the Super Bowl teams are within driving distance, then the airport would likely see more smaller planes.

“We can handle 10 larger jets — business jets — and 40 to 50 small planes,” Layne said.

The larger aircraft would have wingspans no longer than 80 feet, he said.

The Putnam County Airport’s runway is 4,987 feet long and 100 feet wide. It offers fuel, but does not have a control tower or an instrument landing system.

Layne said if weather is bad, such as snowy conditions, the airport has an agreement with the Putnam County Highway Department to clear off the runway.