Asheville Regional Airport plans to buy the nearby Broadmoor Golf Links golf course, partly to "ensure that the airport remains protected from non-compatible land uses" near it.
Airport spokeswoman Tina Kinsey responded June 11 to a Citizen Times request for information on the proposed deal.
"The Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority and Warrior Golf Management, LLC (Broadmoor Golf Links) have entered into a purchase agreement," Kinsey said via email. "The purchase agreement is contingent and requires the successful completion of GARAA’s due diligence, now underway."
Negotiations "have been occurring for many months, and the airport is pleased to move forward with this next step," she said.
If the deal is consummated, Kinsey said it will be "a strategic purchase in line with the airport’s long-term goals," which include protecting the airport from non-compatible uses, and to "diversify the airport’s future revenue sources."
"Both goals are guided by Federal Aviation Administration grant assurance," Kinsey said. "The purchase will be made with funds already identified for this investment."
Further details were unavailable, Kinsey said, as, "Much is still in process as the airport evaluates this transaction."
The golf course is across N.C. 280, called Boylston Highway in that area, from the airport's runway. Broadmoor is in the glide path of the airport, and much of the course is in the flood plain, but the clubhouse area and nearby land is not.
At one point in the early 2000s, the city of Asheville considered buying Broadmoor, but concerns about flooding and the expense quashed the deal.
Lew Bleiweis, executive director at Asheville Regional Airport, said it's important for the airport to diversity its holdings.
"It is important to note that while the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted and then prolonged negotiations, the crisis also highlighted the significant importance of revenue diversification such as this for the airport’s long-term sustainability,” Bleweis said in the statement. "This is a responsible use of airport assets to generate a positive return to support the future vitality of our region’s airport.”
The Citizen Times left a message for Broadmoor's general manager but did not hear back as of 8 p.m. June 11.
Warrior Golf has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal bankruptcy court.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Asheville Regional Airport had set passenger records several years running, serving 1.6 million passengers in 2019, a 43% increase, and adding seven routes.
But travel plummeted with the pandemic, and the airport announced in April it would receive more than $14 million through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act.
The federal stimulus package allocated $10 billion for the nation's airports. The bailouts aim to maintain safe air travel amid the coronavirus pandemic, support the economy, keep airport and aviation workers employed, and keep airport credit ratings stable, according to an April 21 release from Asheville Regional.
Bleiweis has said previously the airport is financially stable and will recover from the economic collapse related to the pandemic.
This story is developing. Check back at citizentimes.com for updates.
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Asheville Regional Airport set to buy Broadmoor Golf Course - Citizen Times
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