b'TERMINALSMSP 39Minneapolis-St Paul Intl Expandsand Transforms Concourse BY BROOKE MASTERConcourse G at Minneapolis third at MSP. It will include a dedicatedTogether, the Metropolitan Airports St. Paul International Airportentry from the new Concourse G rotunda,Commission and Delta decided to (MSP) is bigger and better,multiple seating options, work spaces,increase capacity in Concourse G. thanks to a comprehensive expansiona bar/lounge, dining space restrooms,We each were concerned about the and modernization project that is nearlyand an outdoor patio with a fireplace. Inpassenger experience, and we saw this complete. The Metropolitan Airportsaddition, a green roof across the rotundaas a collaborative opportunity where we Commission (MAC), which owns andspace will be visible from inside the club. could build out the concourse, Ryks operates MSP and its relievers, investedcomments. $84 million to add a 50,000-square-footSecond Wave Bridget Rief, vice expansion and modernize passengerof Major Improvements president of Planning amenities. Delta Air Lines, its projectThe current Concourse G project works inand Development partner and sole carrier in the concourse,concert with an eight-year modernizationfor the Metropolitan installed updated interior elements such asprogram on the pre-security side ofAirports Commission, seating and service counters.Terminal 1 that began in2016. It hasadds that crowding We have alwaysfocused on operational improvementswasnt the only issue been customer- by remodeling ticketing areas, baggagein Concourse G. ItBRIDGET RIEFfocused, and thisclaim, restrooms and vertical circulation.was dark, it had restrooms right in the expansion has givenThe $450 million program also added 15middle of the seating area, and it was us the opportunityfeet to the front of the terminal area fromhard to see gate to gate, Rief elaborates. to transformend-to-end.Concourse G was calling for an the passengerThe passengers had a very goodexpansion/upgrade, and the Airports experience inexperience at the front of the house, butCommission was ready to partner with Concourse G, statesBRIAN RYKS then when you got to Concourse G, it Delta to pioneer the project. Brian Ryks executive director and chiefwasnt quite the same experience, says executive officer of the MetropolitanRyks. We wanted to create a consistentBack to FundamentalsAirports Commission.experience from curb to gate. Knowing the major issues that needed The new square footage was addedBack in fall 2017, shortly after theto be solved, the Metropolitan Airports at the far end of Concourse G, where itsweeping front-of-house improvementsCommission worked with Alliiance, its intersects with the Terminal 1 Skybridgewere well underway, Delta beganproject architect, to further establish to Concourse C. The project expandedreviewing its existing Sky Clubs at MSPthe scope of improvements needed gates G17-G22 by 60% by reorganizing(one in Concourse C, one in Concoursein Concourse G. In spring 2018, they spaces, restrooms and concessions; andF). Ryks notes that during peak times,devoted three months to visioning Delta incorporated its newest brandedthe Sky Clubs were congested, and Deltaexercises to help develop a roadmap. elements such as darker carpeting,wanted to fix thatand look for a locationAshley Ilvonen, a power-connected seating and white gatethat could include an outdoor sky deck.company principal counters.This is when we worked with Delta toand leader designer Upgrades in the main concourse areaanalyze solutions and the decision wasat Alliiance, explains include a two-story light-filled rotunda, amade to expand into Concourse G, hethat the visioning wider corridor with terrazzo flooring, moreexplains.sessions helped spacious gate areas, larger restroomConcourse G services Delta flightsdetermine long-suites, a modernized Delta Sky Clubwith larger aircraft such as the Airbusterm plans for with a Sky Deck, and an expandedA320 and A330, but the concoursethe concourseASHLEY ILVONENconcessions lineup. Two new food/ has a narrow corridor that branchesand explore what it could look like. beverage options (CIBO Market andout into pods for various gate areas.This helped the project team make Starbucks) opened by June. SeveralAs Deltas traffic at MSP grew,the best use of airside frontage for more will be opening later this summerpassenger congestion became thegates, concessions and amenities. It and in early fall: Crisp & Green, Poppysnorm. Throughout the years, restrooms,also determined the most convenient Bagel/Custom Burger and Mill City. Thecorridors, concessions and seating areaslocation for restrooms (toward landside only other major element still underway ishad all become overcrowded.of the single-sided concourse). Visioning Deltas new Sky Club, which will be theexercises also yielded the initial concept AirportImprovement.comSeptember 2022'