Wichita City Council delays approval of spending for Eisenhower Airport gala

The Wichita City Council voted unanimously to delay approval of spending for an invitational gala at Eisenhower Airport, part of a $250,000 celebration planned for the opening of the new passenger terminal.

About 800 public officials, airport contractors and business and community leaders have been invited to the gala, scheduled for April 11 in the new terminal at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport.

The gala is part of a five-event celebration being planned to mark the opening of the new terminal, which will replace the 1950s terminal that currently serves air travel passengers.

The $125-a-ticket gala is planned to include a progressive dinner spread throughout the terminal, music by members of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and speeches by dignitaries including Mary Eisenhower, the granddaughter of the former president from whom the airport draws its name, Airport Director Victor White said Tuesday.

At the request of Council member Jeff Blubaugh, the council, which also serves as the Airport Authority board, held off on approving spending for the gala for at least a week to get a specific breakdown of costs.

“I would like to approve of the events, the four that are open to the public, but I would like to put off the gala for a week or whatever time possible so we can find out additional information about that,” Blubaugh said.

The four events approved by the council are a media preview on April 9, an employee reception and tours on April 10, a public open house on April 18 and a ribbon-cutting and “first flight” ceremony in early May.

The airport is planning on offsetting some of the cost of the opening celebrations through sponsorships, donations and sale of tickets to the gala.

Airport officials had asked the council for $250,000 in spending authority for the celebrations – as much as $150,000 from airport funds and at least $100,000 from outside sources.

White said the airport plans to pay for the celebration up front and then get reimbursed for some of the cost from gala ticket sales and the other outside contributions. A nonprofit foundation has been created to handle money donated to benefit the airport, he said.

“This is its first mission,” he said.

White said the only cost to taxpayers for the celebration will be for Wichita Transit buses to transport attendees to the public open house, which is expected to draw a huge crowd.

White said the size and cost of the celebration is justified by the historic nature of the opening of the terminal, the city’s first such project in more than 60 years.

This story was originally published March 17, 2015 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Wichita City Council delays approval of spending for Eisenhower Airport gala."