New leaders steer $1B Reno airport expansion

The Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority is trying to keep a leadership transition from slowing the biggest construction program in the airport’s history. On May 1, the authority said three new members had joined its nine-seat Board of Trustees, weeks after interim President and CEO Cris Jensen took over and two months after RTAA broke ground on new concourses. The work sits inside MoreRNO, a multi-year capital program that the airport says represents about $1 billion in infrastructure investment. Airport officials say the program will add space, update passenger facilities and reshape how people move through the terminal campus. ### Who are the new people now helping oversee the expansion? The May 1 board announcement named Ronald J. Bath, Garrett Gordon and Roy Tuscany as new trustees. RTAA said Bath was appointed by the City of Reno and is a retired U.S. Air Force major general, Gordon was appointed by the City of Reno and works in real estate and business law at Womble Bond Dickinson, and Tuscany was appointed by the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority and founded the High Fives Non-Profit Foundation. (renoairport.com) Shaun Carey, the RTAA board chair, said in that release that the three appointees would bring “a unique perspective” as the authority continues its work. The board, which is appointed by Reno, Sparks, Washoe County and the tourism authority, provides oversight for Reno-Tahoe International Airport and Reno-Stead Airport. ### Who is running the airport day to day during the transition? (renoairport.com) Cris Jensen became interim president and chief executive officer on Feb. 1, 2026, after former President and CEO Daren Griffin left for the Columbus Regional Airport Authority. RTAA said in December that Jensen, previously chief operations and public safety officer, would serve while the board conducts a national search for a permanent leader. (renoairport.com) The current executive team page lists Jensen as interim CEO and names Gary Probert as chief infrastructure and planning officer, Mark Berg as chief commercial officer and Jenn Ewan as chief legal officer, among others. That matters because the expansion is now moving from planning into active construction and procurement. ### What part of the $1 billion program is already under construction? (renoairport.com) RTAA said on March 3 that it had broken ground on the New Gen A and B concourses, a $650 million project that will modernize and nearly double the size of the existing concourses. The authority said the work includes full gate replacement, common-use flexibility for aircraft of different sizes, expanded holdrooms, concessions, restrooms, upgraded technology and dual taxilanes to speed aircraft turns. (renoairport.com) Both concourses are expected to be completed by late 2029, with construction beginning in phases starting with Concourse A, RTAA said. Engineering News-Record reported in July 2025 that McCarthy Building Companies had won a $428 million construction manager-at-risk contract for the terminal work. ### What else is included in MoreRNO besides the concourses? (renoairport.com) RTAA’s MoreRNO program page lists a ground transportation center, parking expansion, loop road improvements, a ticketing hall expansion and a police and airport authority headquarters in addition to the concourse work. The airport says it is pursuing federal, state, bond and private funding sources and reinvests airport revenue into the program rather than drawing on state or local tax funding. (renoairport.com) The airport’s master plan page shows the long runway for that work. RTAA launched a master plan update in 2016, won Federal Aviation Administration forecast approval in 2017, secured board approval of a preferred development plan in 2017, adopted the full plan in 2018 and said the FAA accepted it in January 2019. ### Where can Reno-area residents track what happens next? (renoairport.com) RTAA posts board and committee agendas on its public meetings page, and those records show expansion-related contracts and design work continuing this year. A special board packet dated April 30 said the authority was managing leadership continuity while actively executing the MoreRNO capital program, which it described as the airport’s largest infrastructure investment and “nearly $1 billion” in facility improvements. (renoairport.com) The airport’s construction and MoreRNO pages also track active projects and traveler impacts, including lane changes near the terminal. RTAA said the new concourses are being built in phases through late 2029, making those public meeting records and project updates the clearest guide to the next milestones. (renoairport.com) (renoairport.com)