Airport pays for Eagan, Dakota County

Though Northwest Airlines has departed, Eagan and Dakota County continue to enjoy huge financial benefits from their proximity and connections to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

And that monetary impact, estimated in the millions of dollars, is only expected to grow in the coming decades as the airport expects to expand substantially by the year 2030.

"We believe the airport is a significant player in the economic activity of the community," said Dennis Probst, deputy executive director for planning and development of the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC).

Although no one has done a precise breakdown on the economic impact of the airport on specific communities or areas, Probst told Eagan's Airport Relations Commission (ARC) last week, the airport generates a great deal of direct and indirect economic activity.

Directly and indirectly, he said, the airport generates 153,000 jobs, which leads to $6 billion in personal income and $10.7 billion in business revenues, including more than $1.4 billion in local purchases. The airport also generates $626 million in state and local taxes.

The city asked for the outline of the airport's impact, and the report suggests that even as the airline industry has suffered in the years since 9/11, the cities closest to the Twin Cities airport are still reaping the benefits.

The numbers are based on 2005 figures, the airport's most recent economic survey. They also are from before Delta merged with Northwest Airlines and Northwest's headquarters closed in Eagan. But Probst believes the numbers are roughly the same now, especially as the economy has improved and new airlines have arrived.

The airport wants to produce a new economic survey and update, possibly by 2012.

"The numbers are significant, if dated," Probst told the ARC. "We believe we are the most productive 3,000 acres in the state."

Ripple effects

That sentiment is echoed by city, county and Chamber of Commerce officials, who see the area's proximity to the airport as a selling point for businesses and hotels in the area.

"Six minutes to the airport is a great selling tool," said Ruthie Batulis, executive director of the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce, who along with Probst spoke last week before the Eagan ARC.

Probst noted that the airport employs about 28,000 workers, with a significant percentage of them coming from Dakota County, which has about 5,400 airport workers. That is the second highest total behind only Minneapolis, which has about 5,600 airport workers.

"In short, we love the airport," said Brent Cory, executive director of the Eagan Convention and Visitor's Bureau.

Cory, who also spoke to the ARC, said Eagan hotels especially benefit from the airport.

"People want things close," Cory said. "We get a great deal of business from the airport."

Frequent buyers

Cory cited anecdotal evidence to support his claims.

He noted that Eagan's 15 hotels, which have a total of about 1,200 rooms, have higher occupancy rates than those in surrounding communities such as Burnsville.

Also, the average daily amount that these visitors spend is about $24 a day higher in Eagan than in Burnsville, especially during the Sunday-Thursday period when most business and airline traveling is done, he told the ARC.

"A lot of people equate us as that community that's five minutes from the airport," Cory said. That advantage is even more noticeable in the winter, he said, when bad weather forces flights to be canceled and passengers spend extra nights in the Twin Cities area.

Often that means full capacity at Eagan hotels.

The airport's impact will grow in coming years, according to projections from the airport, which served 32,839,441 passengers during 2010. That was a slight increase from 2009, and the first year-over-year growth since 2005.

Probst said the airport expects the number of passengers to grow to 56 million by 2030, which will require adding about 30 gates and almost doubling the number of parking spaces from 22,000 today to more than 40,000 by 2030.

"I would suspect Eagan [businesses] will react accordingly," Cory said. "It will equate to more business for us."

Heron Marquez • 952-707-9994