GREENVILLE, Wis. — With just a few weeks left until the NFL Draft in Green Bay, workers are busy putting some of the final pieces together on a new concourse at Appleton International Airport.
Airport Director Abe Weber said the expansion offers more gates for both travelers and airlines.
“At the end of this we’re going to be at about 10 boarding gates,” he said during a media tour Tuesday. “We’ll have the opportunity to be able to serve many more aircraft, more routes and if there are new airlines that come in, we’ll be able to accommodate them with this concourse expansion.”
Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport and Appleton International Airport have both beefed up the number of flights for the draft and are preparing for an influx of passengers in late April.
Work is essentially doubling the size of the terminal in Appleton. It’s expected to open just before the draft.
“Right now, we’re shooting to have three of these gates open, so we’ll be up to ten with our existing six or seven before the draft. About a week before the draft, we’re looking to bring those gates on line to serve the additional growth we’ll see during the draft,” Weber said. “That draft week we’ll see over sixty flights on that Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Over seven thousand seats in and out. That’s a huge increase from what we normally see.”
It includes additional gates, a biergarten and additional passenger spaces, like a sensory support room.
The $66 million project is expected to be completely finished late this year or early next year.
The Fox Cities are preparing to handle an influx of visitors for the draft next month.
“We have several hotels that are sold out, or nearly sold out,” said Pam Seidl of the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We do have a number of hotels with plenty of rooms available. I’m hoping in the next few weeks to those rooms sold.”
Between Packers home games and international gatherings like the week-long EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, the region is used to handling large events.
“Northeast Wisconsin handles an event this size every year,” she said. “We sort of forget about it because we do it so well with EAA.”
Weber said everything from design to the construction materials used are aimed at providing an elevated passenger experience.
“Our last big concourse expansion happened in 2000. Twenty-five years later this is a $65 million going on now,” he said. “If we continue to grow, I’d love to say in another twenty years we’ll be doing this again.”
