Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | April 1, 2019 | wbjournal.com C E N T R A L M AS S I N B R I E F Worcester airport has $97M economic impact V E R BAT I M New devices "We've achieved sequential years of triple-digit growth and look forward to continuing to grow rapidly over the coming years. We remain well financed, but have a clear opportunity to accelerate market expansion." CardioFocus' President and Chief Commercial Officer Omari Bouknight on the Marlborough company's prospects as its new devices clear regulatory approvals in Europe and the U.S. New drinks "We've created what we now believe to be the best-tasting hard seltzer on the market." Wachusett Brewing Co. President Christian McMahan on the company's new line of hard seltzers. Game time "It's the first [arcade bar] in the city, and I think people are going to love it." Jason Eastty, owner of prospective arcade bar Pixels and Pints in Worcester W orcester Regional Air- port has an economic impact of $97 million, according to a study released last month by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. A portion of that impact comes from the state-owned airport's nearly 600 employees, who earned what the study said was nearly $30 million. e remain- der of the airport's impact comes from what's called the multiplier effect, which includes spending in the community by those workers, as well as by those flying in and out of the airport. e release of the study, which ana- lyzed Logan International Airport in Bos- ton and others, comes as the state plans a $300,000 marketing campaign aimed at getting more Central Massachusetts residents to use the Worcester airport. e Massachusetts Port Authority, which owns Worcester Regional and Logan, said the marketing campaign will include billboards and social media ads to raise awareness about the airport's conve- nience, parking options and connections. Worcester Regional has added new flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Phila- delphia in just over the past year. at expansion of services was made possible in part due to a $36-million landing system upgrade making landing safer in inclement weather. e airport has regular flights to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale in Florida. In August, the airport is due to add a connection to Detroit. anks to those new commercial routes, Worcester Regional's economic impact rose sharply from the last state report. A 2014 report put the airport's estimated impact at $46 million. Massport says it has invested more than $100 million into Worcester Re- gional since buying the airport from the city in 2010. Statewide impact Worcester Regional's economic impact places it seventh statewide. Logan has an economic impact of $16.3 billion, the state's study found, followed by Hanscom Field in Bedford at $6.7 billion. Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee and commercial airports in Hyannis, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket had greater economic impacts than Worcester. e most recent study included smaller general aviation airports, including Stow Minute Man Air Field (with 210 employees and a $25.8-million impact), Fitchburg Municipal Airport (162 employees; $17.6 million), Southbridge Municipal Airport (57 employees; $6.2 million), Sterling Airport (18 employees; $1.9 million), Gardner Municipal Airport (eight employees; $1 million), Hopedale Industrial Airport (13 employees; $1 million), Spencer Airport (three employees; $356,000) and Marlborough Airport (one employee; $189,000). Marlborough Airport was sold in December for $1.9 million to Capital Group Properties of Southborough, which plans a development with 12 industrial buildings. W BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor With flights to Florida, New York City, Philadelphia and eventually Detroit, the terminal at Worcester Regional Airport is seeing more traffic than it did when Orlando and Fort Lauderdale were the only destinations.

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