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Six cities across the U.S. have submitted over 1,500 pages of documents to be chosen as the new home of the National Championship Air Races. In March the Reno Air Racing Association announced that the 2023 event would be the final race held at the Reno-Stead Airport (RTS). After nearly 60 years, the airport decided to sever its ties with the historic racing event, citing the rapid development in the region, economic conditions, public safety and the impact on the public and airport. In June RARA officially began taking bids for a new host for the races and on Thursday it announced six bidders were vying for the role.
"Seeing the interest to host the National Championship Air Races at each of these unique venues gives me great hope for the future of air racing," said Fred Telling, CEO and chairman of the board for the Reno Air Racing Association. "We're looking for our next home, somewhere we can celebrate many more anniversaries, so we've assembled an expert committee that is putting an extreme amount of care and diligence into choosing our next location."RELATED STORIES:National Championship Air Races looking for a new homeReno Air Races to fly away after this year
The one-of-a-kind event brings in over $100 million annually to the host region. The NCAR is the only event of its kind In the world to feature seven classes of air racing in one venue. The popular six closed-course pylon contests and STOL Drag create a thrilling, adrenaline-pumping event for aviation enthusiasts. The event began in its first home in Nevada in 1964, and in the past one year has drawn more than one million visitors and generated over $750 million for the economy. The event also contributes to aviation-related education and provides outreach to local schools and non-profits. The six bidding cities include Casper, Wyoming; Buckeye, Arizona; Pueblo, Colorado; Roswell, New Mexico; Thermal, California; and Wendover, Utah.
RARA has a committee to oversee the bids, made up of personnel from operations, safety, security and business development. The many race classes are also represented in the group and selection process. With the six bidders, the committee is now vetting each proposal and will conduct site visits later this year. Choosing a new site for the races involves numerous factors but the most important may be the available land for the race courses, suitable runways, ramp and hangar space, administrative and security facilities and the proximity to hotels, airports and restaurants.
"We only want to go through this process once and because of that, we're going to make sure our next location is the best fit for the future of the air races," said Terry Matter, board member and chairman of the selection committee. "Each of the bidders' proposals was thoroughly prepared and completely addressed the RARA RFP requirements. We are so grateful for their initial attendance at the bidders' conferences and at NCAR in September, and for the time and effort each one of them put into their proposal preparation. It is very exciting to know that our new home will be in one of these great cities. Soon our Site Selection Committee will visit these locations to further evaluate their ability to be the future host of the National Championship Air Races."
RARA announced in March that the September event would be the final race at the Reno location, but now states that there will be a final air show in Reno in 2024 before moving to a new location in 2025. The 2023 races were cut short on the final day when tragedy struck. On Sept. 17 at the conclusion of the T-6 Gold race, pilots Nick Macy flying a T-6G Six-Cat and Chris Rushing flying the AT-6B Baron's Revenge collided when landing. The death of two longtime racing pilots jolted the community and after conversations with families and friends of the pilots, opted to cancel the remainder of the races. This was the second year in a row that the races ended with a devastating crash. In 2022, an Aero L-29 Delfin crashed, killing the pilot.RELATED STORIES:Witnesses reveal position of T-6 racing pilots before deadly Reno Air Races collisionFinal Reno Air Races end with deadly collision, killing 2
The races have a long history and have had previous crashes, like in 2011 when a modified 1944 P-51 Mustang crashed into the ground in front of the box seating area, killing the pilot and 10 spectators and injuring more than 60 others. After this crash, the NTSB found there were several problems with the P-51 which led to the crash and several safety changes were made to the races including aircraft demonstrating airworthiness before racing and seating spectators farther from the course. The NCAR has strict rules for the racing pilots to follow and requires every pilot to undergo extensive training and testing to ensure every rule is known and followed to enable the highest level of safety possible.
RARA has strict requirements for a new location. The new host airport must have a suitable primary and secondary runway with lengths of 7,000 feet or more as well as an unobstructed land space for all of the seven race classes. There must be a primary race/airshow runway parallel to the viewing ramp, available space, a large ramp area for crowds and displays, a minimum of 1,500 feet of separation from the crowd and races, GA parking for fly-in guests and available fuel trucks. Bidding airports must also have the ability to accommodate large crowds during the event, with decent proximity to hotels, rental cars and airlines. The region around the airport will also be a factor, considering infrastructure, tourism and the presence of other large events in the area.
Now, the committee will begin its process of evaluating the six bidders for their potential to host the event. Once each proposal and every document has been looked over, the committee will check on-site to evaluate the potential host in person. The goal is to wave a flag at the new location for the 2025 races.