Severe thunderstorms may bring tornadoes, hail the size of tennis balls and winds up to 70 mph to Colorado’s Eastern Plains on Saturday afternoon, National Weather Service forecasters said.

As Weld County and Northern Colorado continue to grow, leaders at the Greeley-Weld County Airport are preparing for an expansion they say will position the facility as a major transportation and economic hub for the region.

Airport director Cooper Anderson said the airport has reached a point where additional growth on its current footprint is no longer possible.

“We have reached our capacity, here, as far as growth on the south side of the airport,” Anderson said.

The airport is now developing land northeast of its existing facilities to accommodate larger aircraft and future aviation services. 

“We needed to find a new area to expand and allow larger corporate jets, and eventual charters and commercial service down the road,” Anderson said.

Construction is already underway or completed on several infrastructure projects, including expanded taxiways and sites for future hangars. Anderson said the area being developed was farmland just a few years ago.

“It used to be corn fields, but since then we have ran water, sewage and gas is coming next week,” Anderson said.

The expansion effort has been supported by a combination of local and federal funding. Anderson noted that approximately $850,000 in federal funding was previously secured to develop a master design and long-term vision for the airport, with local money helping execute the plan. Additional federal tax dollars in recent years also helped fund taxiway expansion projects that have prepared the airport for future growth.

Now, Colorado leaders in congress are seeking millions more in federal funding to continue that momentum.

Rep. Gabe Evans, who represents Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, said the airport plays an important role in one of the nation’s busiest aviation corridors.

“The northern Front Range of Colorado is one of the densest airspace systems in the nation,” Evans said.

Before entering Congress, Evans served as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot out of Buckley Air Force Base and frequently flew throughout Northern Colorado. He said improvements at the Greeley airport would have benefits extending well beyond Weld County, noting other airports are overcrowded to the point of causing some nearby residents to complain of sound.

“It really does impact the entire Front Range,” Evans said.

Evans is working to secure additional federal funding that would help construct and staff an air traffic control tower in Greeley while supporting continued infrastructure improvements.

“When those bills are passed and sent to the president’s desk, writtten into those bills as a line item is several more million dollars to continue to expand the infrastructure at the Greeley airport,” Evans said. “So you can actually start to bring business flights into the Greeley airport and pull a lot of that traffic off of some of the overburdened airports in the metro area.”

Anderson said federal support demonstrates broad confidence in the airport’s future as a hub for business and travel.

“Having the addition of Congressman Evans’ office, and their congressional funding, I think shows how much everybody believes in this,” Anderson said.

That confidence is already attracting attention from the private sector, Anderson said, with major companies expressing interest in locating operations at the airport.

“Greeley’s population is booming. Weld County’s population in general is growing,” Anderson said.

Airport leaders view the expansion as a way to support economic development across the region.

“By us growing, and expanding our services, we are also helping the city of Greeley, Weld County and surrounding Northern Colorado communities and being able to grow economic opportunities for them,” Anderson said.

As the airport prepares for future growth, officials have also upgraded emergency response capabilities. The airport recently acquired two fire trucks that will improve its ability to respond to incidents involving larger aircraft. The vehicles also allow firefighters to use newer, non-toxic firefighting foam, replacing older products that posed environmental concerns.

Airport officials say those improvements will help ensure the facility can safely accommodate larger aircraft and increased traffic in the years ahead.