North Texas business leaders say DFW Airport's expansion will be good for the economy
NORTH TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) – Tuesday's announcement about plans for DFW Airport's biggest expansion in years was about a lot more than just what means for airlines and air travelers.
North Texas economists and business leaders say it will provide a boost to almost every aspect of our society.
No one is more excited about DFW Airport's expansion plans than Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce President Michael Jacobson, who sees it as a bigger pipeline to attract visitors.
"We bring in about 16 million visitors a year," Jacobson said. "We have a roadmap to increase the number dramatically...we got the World Cup coming here in 2026."
With the region's biggest venues and tourist attractions, Arlington, like other North Texas cities, depends on DFW Airport to bring in visitors and money.
That's why Jacobson says Tuesday's announcement that the airport will spend more than $4 billion adding a sixth terminal and expanding two others will benefit our region in ways many of us can't imagine.
"They're so hugely important to us," Jacobson said. "Whether it's Taylor Swift bringing 90,000 people a night for three nights. We constantly have a flow, but to make that work you've got to have the ability to get people here.
"Every business is a global business these days, so DFW, and the benefits of its expansion are going to be very broad," said SMU Business Professor Michael Davis.
Davis says fortunately, DFW was built 50 years ago with room to grow, unlike a lot of other airports.
"I think you always worry about congestion but in our case, I think that's much less of a problem than you will see than almost any other city in the world," Davis said.
Maybe the best news of all is the impact the airport's expansion plan will have on tax revenue and the tax relief it will hopefully bring to Tarrant and Dallas Counties.
The airport generates more than $1 billion a year in tax revenue for the state with more than $500 million of that going to local tax entities.
In addition to the thousands of new jobs coming to the DFW and American Airlines, which is leasing the gates, area leaders say beefing up one of the world's busiest airports means the sky's the limit on the businesses and events will want to land here.