MacDill AirFest Grounded in 2015

Tampa Bay area residents who enjoy flocking to MacDill Air Force Base to watch planes execute complex maneuvers won’t get their AirFest fix in 2015.

Organizers of the annual on-base event said the funding just isn’t there, according to The Tampa Tribune.

The event was grounded in 2013 courtesy of budgetary issues. And, while it made a return in 2014, officials knew a repeat performance in 2015 wasn’t going to happen, the paper reported.

An estimated $250,000 in private funding was required to get the 2014 Tampa Bay AirFest off the ground, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

“Because we had it in 2014, it wasn’t even considered in 2015,” Terry Montrose, a spokesman for MacDill’s 6th Air Mobility Wing told the Times.

Organizers are now eyeing 2016 for a possible return, both papers reported. Going forward, an alternating-year schedule might make the most sense financially, officials said.

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