b'SPECIAL EVENTSGRB 29week. During the week of the Draft, theFast-Tracked Upgrades airport served about 39,700 passengers,Airport leadership also accelerated several with traffic peaking the days before andfront-of-house projects, including a fresh after the event. On Sunday, for instance,exterior paint job in dark blue to match the there were 2,365 outbound passengers,GRB logo. compared to around 1,000 on a normal Sunday, Piette says.The two largest projects involved rehabbing a large canopy at the front of Furthermore, the airfield typicallythe terminal and repaving the long-term logs about 30 commercial arrivals andparking lot (about 1,700 spaces), short-departures on Sundays. But on the Sundayterm parking lot (about 200 spaces) after the Draft, the airport logged 48cellphone parking lot and about a half mile commercial inbound and outbound flights. of service and access roads.Additional Service Together, those upgrades cost about Months ahead of time, three of the airports$8.2 million. Work occurred from May 2022 five primary passenger carriers addedto October 2023. The paving work was flights to accommodate increased demand.completed first, followed by the canopy United and American Airlines each addedupgrade, performed by Immell Construction. one flight to and from Chicago OHareThe airport also replaced a sidewalk International Airport (ORD) the day beforecanopy that runs the length of the and the day after the Draft; Delta Air Linescurbside area to protect passengers added two flights to and from Atlantafrom the elements. Initial plans called for International (ATL) and at least one morerehabbing it along with the main canopy, to/from Detroit Metropolitan (DTW) andbut contractors determined the sidewalk Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP). canopy had deteriorated to the point American Airlines added a non-stopwhere it was unsalvageable.flight from LaGuardia Airport (LGA) the dayAs a result, the airport installed a new before the Draft and a return flight the daycantilevered canopy built by Immell, along after, while Delta added non-stop flightswith new footings and sidewalks. Work from LGA, Salt Lake City Internationalstarted in May 2024 and finished in March (SLC) and Los Angeles International2025.The total cost for this work was Airport (LAX) on the same two days. $4.1 million.Local travelers also received specialMead & Hunt Inc. served as the design consideration. For those who didnt wantand engineering consultant for the to contend with the 240,000 to 250,000canopy projects and also managed their people expected for the Draft, Delta addedconstruction. a non-stop flight to Orlando InternationalImprovements were funded with an (MCO) the day before and one back toFAA grant, state aid from the Wisconsin This is our Super Bowl, Piette saidGRB the day after.Department of Transportations Bureau in March, as the April 24 to 26 DraftA lot of people rented their homes onof Aeronautics and money from the $1.2 approached. Weve had playoff games thatAirbnb and left town, says Piette.trillion Federal Infrastructure and Jobs Act are pretty big events, but those are limited topassed by the U.S. Congress in 2021. one day. This was the largest event the cityWith two six-gate concourses, the and our airport has ever accommodated. airport had enough infrastructure toA Welcoming VibeIt was daunting, he recalled of theaccommodate the additional flights. WeInside the terminal, NFL Draft logos and very prospect. It took a lot of planningjust had to look at the gate allocations asreferences were added to wayfinding signs, to be sure our operations would beairlines started adding flights and considerrestaurant dcor and menus. The airport efficient and safe. We worked closelywhere they could park the planes andalso installed a Green Bay Packers heritage with all of our stakeholders, from terminalwhat gates they could use at what timesdisplay with authentic vintage equipmentconcessionaires and our fixed baseand for how long, Piette explains.helmets, shoulders pads and the likefrom operators to law enforcement officials,To beef up ground transportationthe 1919 team. An area that honors war the FAA and the TSA. There were a lot ofoptions, GRB worked with on-siteveterans was added as well, with special moving pieces. rental companies to ensure thereemphasis on the airports namesake. For perspective, GRB typically serveswould be enough inventory on hand toStraubel was a major in the U.S. Air Force about 20,000 passengers on a busyaccommodate increased demand.and the first aviator from Brown County killed in World War II. AirportImprovement.comMay | June 2025'