Phoenix airport ready for onslaught of sports fans

PHOENIX — Phoenix Sky Harbor International bills itself as "America's friendliest airport."That slogan is being put to the test as seasonal travelers and sports enthusiasts descend on Phoenix and surrounding Valley of the Sun communities.

The Valley's gauntlet began with Christmas travel and doesn't end until the first week of February, when suburban Glendale hosts the United States' marquee sporting event, Super Bowl XLIX, on Feb. 1. In between, metro Phoenix will have hosted college football's Fiesta Bowl and Cactus Bowl, the National Football League's Pro Bowl and one of professional golf's best-attended tournaments. Also in the mix: a luxury car auction that could draw more than 300,000 participants.

For sports fans, it's a dream come true. But, for Phoenix' Sky Harbor International Airport, it means an onslaught of visitors during a 35-day window. Approximately 4 million passengers are expected to travel through the airport between Dec. 30 and Feb. 2. That's an increase of only 5% compared with what's normal for the period, but it includes substantial passenger surges related to the big sporting events. It all culminates with what's forecast to be the busiest day in the airport's history: Feb. 2, the day after the Super Bowl.

"Virtually everyone is coming through this airport," says Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton. "That experience, right when they get off that plane, can make or break their impression of a city."

Sky Harbor officials acknowledge the travel crush presents logistical challenges, but they say they've prepared for them.

"We've handled almost everything at this airport," says Chad Makovsky, assistant aviation director at Sky Harbor. "But we don't rest on our laurels."

Throwing the Super Bowl into the Valley's annual mix of college bowl games, golf tournaments and sun-seeking vacationers is a unique challenge for the airport, specially this year, with the NFL staging its annual Pro Bowl in the same city as the Super Bowl for just the third time.

The mayor, Makovsky and other Sky Harbor officials stress that the airport started planning for the Super Bowl and related events more than a year ago. But airport leaders know their year-long efforts are most likely to be noticed only if things don't go smoothly.

"What is so important for us to get right is what goes on behind the scenes," Makovsky says.

Those are things that passengers may not even notice, such as the airport's efforts to make sure onsite retailers extend their hours during busier-than-usual periods. On the night of the Super Bowl, for example, many airport retailers will be open 24 hours to accommodate fliers heading directly from the game to the airport to catch an early morning flight. There's also coordination with TSA, police and other public officials to make sure staffing is sufficient to handle the expected surges in passenger volume.

Makovsky adds that the airport has worked to ensure it's staffed to mitigate unexpected "hiccups" with baggage, screening or other important systems.

Many travelers flying in for the Super Bowl will arrive just as golf fans depart as the Waste Management Phoenix Open winds down. And then there's the expected mass exodus after the Super Bowl is played.

The airport's current daily passenger record has stood since 2008, when Phoenix last held the Super Bowl. The airport handled about 170,000 passengers on the day after that Super Bowl.

"We expect to break that record here in 2015," Makovsky says.

As big as the stakes may be for Sky Harbor, the airport's performance may be just as important for the collective ambition of Phoenix and the surrounding Valley communities. With infrastructure that includes a domed stadium, a sufficient number of hotel rooms and a capable commercial passenger airport, the region hopes to position itself as one of few able to regularly host sporting "mega-events," in the words of Stanton.

Other big U.S. cities — such as Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, San Antonio and Indianapolis — already have used similar infrastructure assets to become regulars in the rotation for big-ticket sporting events, like the NCAA men's basketball Final Four. Such events can bring in tens of thousands of visitors and hundreds of millions of dollars to the host cities.

"We're hungry," says Stanton, noting his desire for the area to cement itself as a regular host city for such events. "Being a city that can host big events like the Super Bowl in the very best possible way is a brand that we're building … and something we want to build for the future."