This plan won't fly

The Sentinel this morning reports that a Fitchburg city councilor wants to close the Fitchburg Airport and replace it with something...anything...but an airport:

City councilor suggests closing Fitchburg airport
By Kyle Alspach

FITCHBURG -- A city councilor is proposing that Fitchburg investigate whether to close its municipal airport and use the land for a different purpose, such as a commercial or industrial venture.

Ward 5 City Councilor Stephan Hay recently filed the proposal with the City Council. He said Friday that there might be better options for the sprawling site.

"The airport serves a small number of people in our community," Hay said. "If we can find something that serves more people, or generates more revenue for us, that would be something we should consider."

The Fitchburg Municipal Airport sits on 335 acres of land near the Leominster border, according to the airport's Web site.

The airport is less than two miles from Route 2, and Hay says Fitchburg might reap more economic benefit if the land housed a shopping plaza, industrial park or a minor league baseball stadium.

The article goes on to suggest that the proposal is most likely dead on arrival. I don't think the airport should close, but if it did, the ensuing fight over the use of the land might be entertaining enough to be worth it.

One snarky commenter on the Twin Cites Blog suggested that they build a "300 acre Walmart" on the site. That might be Mayor Mazzarella's worst nightmare: having Leominster ringed by Wal-marts in Lunenburg, Lancaster, and Fitchburg to remind him of his failure to saddle our fair city with the project.

Failing that, I say let Fitchburg build a baseball stadium there. The plan to put a ballpark on Leominster's old landfill isn't a good one as it's currently described, so I say let Fitchburg co-opt it. Leominster can sneak in and claim the Revolution's new stadium as its own.

Tags: Massachusetts Leominster Fitchburg Airport Development New England Revolution