HB 245 ROSWELL AIR CENTER AIR RACING EVENTS

Rep Jared Hembree

Actions: [3] HTPWC/HAFC-HTPWC [5] DP-HAFC

Scheduled: Not Scheduled

  House Bill 245 (HB 245) appropriates ten million dollars ($10,000,000) to the Aviation Division of the Department of Transportation for construction and improvements to the Roswell Air Center for the purpose of hosting air racing events. 

 House Bill 245 (HB 245) appropriates ten million dollars ($10,000,000) from the General Fund (GF) to the Aviation Division (AD) of the Department of Transportation (DOT) for expenditure for Fiscal Years (FY) 2025 through FY 2029 for construction and improvements to the Roswell Air Center for the purpose of hosting air racing events.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2029 reverts to the GF.
 

 The Roswell Air Center (ROW) is located five miles south of the central business district of the city and is the core of southeastern New Mexico’s industrial activity. The airport was Roswell Army International Airfield during World War II and Walker Air Force Base during the Cold War. When it closed, the 4,600 acre base was the largest of the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command. 
Walker AFB was named after General Kenneth Newton Walker, a native of Los Cerrillos, New Mexico who was killed during a bombing mission over Rabaul, Papua New Guinea on January 5, 1943 and awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
ROW is also known for the Roswell UFO incident, an event that allegedly occurred on July 4, 1947. Felix Baumgartner used the airport to launch his record-breaking freefall jump from the stratosphere on October 14, 2012.
It was one of six finalists for the Reno Air Racing Association’s air races in 2025; however, Pueblo, Colorado became the next host location.
ROW needs help funding larger hangars and heavier capacity runways among other improvements to host these shows and accommodate commercial traffic.

https://www.roswell-nm.gov/307/Roswell-Air-Center
https://www.nmlegis.gov/handouts/ERDT%20090116%20Item%202%20Roswell%20International%20Air%20Center.pdf  

 HB 245 duplicates SB 199.