
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 3, 1991                   TAG: 9102010787
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: D-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES BUSINESS WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

AIRPORT HAS THE IMAGE AS IT AWAITS BUSINESS

It's a familiar refrain among Roanoke Valley business leaders: Show us a dynamic, growing community and we'll show you one that has a busy, thriving airport.

Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C., Norfolk and Knoxville, Tenn. The cities conjure a picture of cities reborn in part by air traffic and the accompanying boom in business development.

Roanoke Regional Airport's new terminal, local officials say, already has become a valuable tool in economic development efforts. Non-stop daily jet service to major airline hubs at Charlotte and Chicago's O'Hare has helped draw company executives here for a first-hand look.

"We give a modern, upbeat, planned image of the community when people get off the airplane," said Tim Gubala, Roanoke County's economic development chief. "We didn't have that a few years ago."

That's one reason why former Gov. Gerald Baliles pushed to establish a Commonwealth Transportation Fund from the fuel taxes and highway user fees collected across the state. A small portion was earmarked for renovating state airports, which had been criticized for their apparent obsolescence.

Airports, contends Mike Waters of the state Department of Aviation, often are a community's best chance to impress businesses looking for new locations. "Corporate executives don't come by Trailways or Greyhound bus. They come by air."

Said Mark Heath, executive director of the Regional Partnership of the Roanoke Valley: "We haven't had a single [economic development] prospect tell us the air service is a limiting factor here."

Heath's call for increased marketing efforts is underscored by city and airport officials who would like to hire a full-time marketing specialist for the airport.

Still, there are the persistent complaints of some business leaders who want several direct, even non-stop, flights to New York's LaGuardia Airport so they can arrive, do business and depart - all in the same day.

"If you want to denigrate the Roanoke Valley, you're going to have to do it on something other than air service," said Bob Johnson, a Roanoke County supervisor who also sits on the bilateral commission overseeing the airport. "You have got people who want non-stop service from Roanoke to London. It's not going to happen."

by CNB