Eugene Airport Expansion Faces Funding Gap, Community Input Planned
Eugene Airport officials told the city council on November 10 that long range expansion plans including a potential Concourse C would cost roughly $177 million and are currently unfunded, making traditional bond financing difficult. With a $22 million Concourse A expansion moving ahead after federal funding was restored, airport leaders have hired consultants to explore alternative funding and will run community outreach and surveys over several months.
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Eugene Airport officials presented a sobering funding picture to the Eugene City Council on November 10, saying that the airport's long range master plan includes major projects that remain without a clear financing path. The proposed Concourse C alone could cost roughly $177 million, and the package of larger projects amounts to roughly $240 million. Officials said that such large projects would be difficult to finance through traditional municipal bonds.
The airport has completed several federally funded projects in recent years, and officials are moving ahead with a $22 million expansion to Concourse A now that federal funding has been restored. That project is described as funded and proceeding, but it does not close the gap for larger additions envisioned in the master plan.
To address the shortfall, city and airport leaders have hired consultants to study a range of alternative funding sources. The options under review include congressionally directed spending, state and federal grants, public private partnerships, naming rights, and benefactor fundraising. Consultants will also oversee community outreach and surveys over several months to gauge public sentiment and priorities before any major financing decisions are made.
Airport staff emphasized the planning context behind the proposals, citing projected passenger growth and economic impact estimates that support the need for increased capacity and improved facilities. Those projections formed part of the council briefing, though officials did not present new dollar estimates for the wider economic effects in this session. The airport argued that planning now is necessary to align capacity with anticipated demand and to position the region for future air service options.
For Lane County residents, the stakes are both practical and economic. Expanded concourses and greater airline capacity could mean more direct flights, improved travel convenience, and a boost to tourism and business travel. Conversely, large unfunded projects raise questions about how the community would bear costs, whether through taxes, airport fees, or private investment, and what trade offs might be required for other local priorities.
The planning timeline now centers on the consultant work and outreach phase, which is expected to run for several months. That work will inform which funding paths are feasible and politically acceptable before the airport moves toward formal financing requests or partnerships. If alternative funding can be secured, the master plan envisions staged development to match growth. If not, some elements could be delayed or scaled back.
As the process unfolds, the city council and airport leaders will need to balance long term growth expectations with immediate fiscal realities, and to translate technical projections into choices that reflect community priorities across Lane County.