The Orlando airport commission last week approved plans for a $1.1 billion expansion and renovation plan for the facility, which serves more than 35 million passengers a year. The commission's concerned that the current facility can't effectively handle more than 45 million passengers a year, which it projects the airport to hit by 2019. So it's devised a plan to add a second terminal facility one mile south of the existing terminal, while upgrading the existing terminal facility and its gates for international flights.
The commission's airport expansion master plan [PDF] detailed the rationale behind and the six phases of the expansion plan, which will start by adding a new, 2,400-space parking garage, remote check-in location and people mover station that will form the core of a new southern terminal facility. The southern terminal will connect to the northern terminal by a three-minute people mover ride, and ultimately might house up to 120 domestic and international airplane gates, two 500-room hotels, 20,000 parking spaces across multiple garages, and terminals for state-wide and local commuter rail systems. (For reference, the current north terminal complex includes 106 gates.)
Here's a concept video:
The $1.1 billion pays for the first phases of the expansion. A full build-out would cost at least $1 billion more. While the airport commission will start right away with renovations and expansion of the existing, northside terminal, focusing on the international gates, the southern terminal project won't start until the airport hits 40 million passengers a year.
Theme park fans, what do you think of Orlando's airport? What would you like to see it fix, add, or improve to better serve the area's tourists and theme park fans?
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From the Orlando Sentinel ... TODAY!
"An 18,000-seat Major League Soccer stadium will soon be part of downtown Orlando’s landscape — home to what supporters say will be the city’s second professional sports franchise.
In a raucous celebration, a crowd of more than 200 people chanted “We are going MLS” as soon as Orange County commissioners voted 5-2 Tuesday night to pitch in $20 million in tourist taxes as the county’s share of the $84 million stadium."
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