Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Auth

Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Auth, a U.S. local government entity and airport authority based in Bentonville, Arkansas, receives federal grants as a prime recipient from the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund airport infrastructure improvement, expansion, and operational relief programs; the vendor operates exclusively as a grant recipient, with no federal contract prime or sub-award activity.

The authority's federal footprint is entirely grant-driven, concentrated in two distinct activity streams. The primary stream comprises FAA Airport Improvement Program (CFDA 20.106) grants funding multi-phase terminal and airfield reconstruction and expansion projects. Recent representative awards include a $13.7 million grant (awarded January 30, 2023, completion by January 29, 2027) for Phase One terminal building modernization including ADA compliance upgrades and baggage system improvements; a $9.9 million grant (April 7, 2023, completion by April 6, 2027) for Phase Three of the same terminal project; an $11 million grant (September 8, 2023, completion by September 7, 2027) for west terminal apron expansion of 24,000 square yards; and three coordinated grants totaling $24.62 million awarded between September 24, 2025, and April 16, 2026, for Phase 1 northwest terminal apron reconstruction and expansion (120,750 square yards pavement reconstruction, 36,750 square yards apron expansion, 595 feet of taxiway reconstruction, and deicing containment facility reconstruction), with completion scheduled for September 23, 2029. The authority also holds a $4.94 million Airport Improvement Program grant (awarded September 6, 2024, completion by September 5, 2028) for final-phase terminal expansion of 44,000 square feet. A second infrastructure stream funds air traffic control tower reconstruction under the Airport Improvement Program, including a $1.12 million design and environmental assessment grant (January 30, 2023) and two consecutive-phase construction grants totaling $12.06 million (both awarded August 21, 2024, completion by August 20, 2028) for a sponsor-owned federal contract tower reconstruction approved for the FAA Federal Contract Tower Program.

A smaller but distinct grant activity supports air service development and pandemic-related airport operations relief. The authority received a $500,000 Small Community Air Service Development grant (September 13, 2022, through January 7, 2028) for a minimum revenue guarantee and marketing program to establish new service to San Francisco from Bentonville. Pandemic-relief grants include an $8.28 million award (November 12, 2021) for airport operations, personnel, cleaning, sanitization, janitorial services, and debt service through November 2025, and a $763,519 concession-relief grant (January 21, 2022) for rent and minimum annual guarantee assistance.

The source data tracks 147 total awards with a combined obligated value of $272 million against $50.4 million in combined potential value, indicating substantial prior grant performance. The authority has received funding from six distinct federal sources; the FAA and its Southwestern Region account for the plurality of the recent grant portfolio, though GSA Public Buildings Service Central Office appears in the customer roster at $24.3 million combined potential value, and the Department of Homeland Security Transportation Security Administration holds $1.9 million. Award frequency averaged 2.8 per year over the past five years (2022–2026), with concentrated activity in 2023–2024. All grants are project-specific awards with defined completion dates between 2025 and 2029, typically tied to multi-phase infrastructure modernization initiatives.