TEXAS SPOTLIGHT
Transportation Tug-of-War
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ebster's Dictionary defines "tug-of-war" as" a struggle for supremacy involving two antagonists."
In North Texas, the battle lines couldn't be drawn more clearly. On the one hand, discount air carrier Southwest Airlines seeks repeal of a 1979 federal law that makes it illegal to fly or advertise flights from Dallas' Love Field to destinations beyond the four states surrounding Texas, plus Alabama, Mississippi and Kansas.
On the other hand, legacy carrier American Airlines seeks to uphold the Wright Amendment, which limits competition to American's Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport hub from carriers at nearby but much smaller Love Field.
Both sides say that their solution presents the best case for growing the North Texas economy and improving access to air travel in the Dallas-Forth Worth Mextroplex. Currently, Southwest operates about 100 flights out of Love Field, while American operates about 700 out of DFW.
The rapidly escalating political debate breaks down largely along geographic lines. Officials representing Fort Worth and the western side of the Metroplex generally align with American Airlines and DFW, while a number of East Dallas politicians support the effort to open Love Field to more direct flights to and from national destinations.
Because Love Field is closer than DFW to downtown Dallas by about 10 road miles (16 km.), many businesses and residents on the eastern and southern sides of the Metroplex find it easier to commute via the smaller airport.
What's at stake in this sometimes rancorous debate is the future growth of both airports, as well as the larger economy of North Texas.
Corporate site consultants contacted for this article say that Texas' outstanding transportation infrastructure is one of the biggest reasons why Texas won the Site Selection Governor's Cup for most new and expanded corporate facilities this past year — and why the state ranked as America's No. 1 Business Climate in the November 2004 issue of Site Selection.
But who controls that infrastructure, and how and where it grows, are pivotal issues that could determine the course of corporate real estate investment and economic development for much of Texas in the 21st century.
"Dallas and Houston airports and the Port of Houston are the most important transportation infrastructure assets in Texas," says Bob Goforth, a Jacksonville-based site consultant with Leak & Goforth. His firm two years ago advised Dallas-based Texas Instruments to locate a $3-billion semiconductor manufacturing plant in the North Dallas suburb of Richardson.
"No personal income tax, coupled with good transportation, has led to numerous corporate headquarters moves to Texas," says Goforth, adding that Gov. Rick Perry's $300-million Texas Enterprise Fund is "very critical in these days of large project decisions weighted toward big incentives."
In 2004, Texas led the nation in the number of new and expanded corporate facility projects valued at $1 million or more, with 668, marking the sixth time Texas has claimed the Governor's Cup over the 27-year history of the competition.
The Dallas-Forth Worth-Arlington metropolitan area also led the nation, with 277 corporate projects in 2004, besting such industrial juggernauts as Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta. Houston was seventh with 136.
Michael Rareshide, a national site consultant and executive vice president of Partners National Real Estate Group in Dallas, contends that Texas' transportation assets give the Lone Star State a huge advantage in any competition for corporate projects.
"The Interstate highway systems running both north-south and east-west provide industrial companies with easy and inexpensive access to the entire U.S.," says Rareshide.
"Other important infrastructure assets include Fort Worth's Alliance Airport," he adds, "the world's first industrial airport, which is providing cost-effective air access for manufacturing concerns to easily ship into and out of the area."
In North Texas, the battle lines couldn't be drawn more clearly. On the one hand, discount air carrier Southwest Airlines seeks repeal of a 1979 federal law that makes it illegal to fly or advertise flights from Dallas' Love Field to destinations beyond the four states surrounding Texas, plus Alabama, Mississippi and Kansas.
On the other hand, legacy carrier American Airlines seeks to uphold the Wright Amendment, which limits competition to American's Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport hub from carriers at nearby but much smaller Love Field.
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| American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner says the Wright Amendment is good for North Texas, and that, "despite what Southwest says, there is competition at DFW." In light of newly proposed legislation that suggests closing down Love Field, he says "It is as reasonable to look at closing Love Field as it is to look at opening Love Field to more flights." |
Both sides say that their solution presents the best case for growing the North Texas economy and improving access to air travel in the Dallas-Forth Worth Mextroplex. Currently, Southwest operates about 100 flights out of Love Field, while American operates about 700 out of DFW.
The rapidly escalating political debate breaks down largely along geographic lines. Officials representing Fort Worth and the western side of the Metroplex generally align with American Airlines and DFW, while a number of East Dallas politicians support the effort to open Love Field to more direct flights to and from national destinations.
Because Love Field is closer than DFW to downtown Dallas by about 10 road miles (16 km.), many businesses and residents on the eastern and southern sides of the Metroplex find it easier to commute via the smaller airport.
What's at stake in this sometimes rancorous debate is the future growth of both airports, as well as the larger economy of North Texas.
Corporate site consultants contacted for this article say that Texas' outstanding transportation infrastructure is one of the biggest reasons why Texas won the Site Selection Governor's Cup for most new and expanded corporate facilities this past year — and why the state ranked as America's No. 1 Business Climate in the November 2004 issue of Site Selection.
But who controls that infrastructure, and how and where it grows, are pivotal issues that could determine the course of corporate real estate investment and economic development for much of Texas in the 21st century.
"Dallas and Houston airports and the Port of Houston are the most important transportation infrastructure assets in Texas," says Bob Goforth, a Jacksonville-based site consultant with Leak & Goforth. His firm two years ago advised Dallas-based Texas Instruments to locate a $3-billion semiconductor manufacturing plant in the North Dallas suburb of Richardson.
"No personal income tax, coupled with good transportation, has led to numerous corporate headquarters moves to Texas," says Goforth, adding that Gov. Rick Perry's $300-million Texas Enterprise Fund is "very critical in these days of large project decisions weighted toward big incentives."
In 2004, Texas led the nation in the number of new and expanded corporate facility projects valued at $1 million or more, with 668, marking the sixth time Texas has claimed the Governor's Cup over the 27-year history of the competition.
The Dallas-Forth Worth-Arlington metropolitan area also led the nation, with 277 corporate projects in 2004, besting such industrial juggernauts as Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta. Houston was seventh with 136.
Michael Rareshide, a national site consultant and executive vice president of Partners National Real Estate Group in Dallas, contends that Texas' transportation assets give the Lone Star State a huge advantage in any competition for corporate projects.
"The Interstate highway systems running both north-south and east-west provide industrial companies with easy and inexpensive access to the entire U.S.," says Rareshide.
"Other important infrastructure assets include Fort Worth's Alliance Airport," he adds, "the world's first industrial airport, which is providing cost-effective air access for manufacturing concerns to easily ship into and out of the area."
