Latest news with #McGheeTyson
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Ober Mountain upgrades allow for longer snow sports season in 2025
GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WATE) — With tourism being a crucial part of the Sevier County economy, many attractions are gearing up for their spring season. One of them is already in full swing. Ober Mountain is open year-round and they are adding more opportunities for visitors this year. 'There's been so much investment put into Ober Mountain now over the last few years,' said Ober Mountain CEO and President Mark Adams. 'These include lifts, new chairlifts, scenic new chairlifts for snow sports, and the investments will continue into the next 4 or 5, ten years.' Dolly shares 'love note' to family, friends and fans after husband Carl Dean's death With new snowmaking capabilities, Adams said they have been able to extend their snow sports season on Ober Mountain. Because of their draw for skiing, snowboarding, and tubing he said Ober is essential to Sevier County's economy in the winter. 'We already know Sevier County gets upwards of 10-12 million visitors a year, and we'd like to say that Ober really is that anchor for the winter,' he said. 'We are really that anchor attraction that keeps visitors coming year-round.' This year, he said they have already added two new chairlifts; The Ober Challenge Lift for both skiing and downhill mountain biking, and Sky Village Express for carrying visitors to the highest lift-served peak in the Smokies, The Sky Village Scenic Deck. The deck will also be a launch site for their new Cloud Catcher Zipline. McGhee Tyson to temporarily close main entrance amid high traffic 'It's some of the longest and highest zipline to the Smokies, and you practically zipline over top of the national park,' said Adams. 'One of them is over 3,500 feet long, and the second one's over 3,200 feet long, and then we finish up coming back to the resort, at about 2,000 feet.' With Ober employing nearly 400 people, Adams said they hope to keep people coming back for more. 'Because they just want to see snow and be a part of everything that we have to offer here in Gatlinburg,' he said. ▶ See more top stories on While Ober has been a staple in the community for over 60 years, the company rebranded to 'Ober Mountain' in 2022. Adams added Ober has already had over 100 days of snow sports this year alone and have completed their 12-year plan where they will continue to invest in the area. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Yahoo
McGhee Tyson will close main Alcoa Highway entrance on spring break weekends: What to know
McGhee Tyson Airport will close its main entrance and redirect drivers to Hunt Road for three March weekends in anticipation of heavy spring break traffic. The airport's main entrance from Alcoa Highway will be inaccessible to southbound travelers (those coming from Knoxville) from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. on these dates: Thursday, March 6 to Monday, March 10 Thursday, March 13 to Monday, March 17 Thursday, March 20 to Monday, March 24 The Hunt Road exit is the next exit south from the airport's main entrance, and it passes by economy parking lots and the Hilton hotel before reaching the terminal building. The traffic pattern will not change for passengers heading north on Alcoa Highway. After taking the exit, passengers will turn right onto Tyson Boulevard, which turns onto Terminal Loop Drive by the hotel. The airport will monitor traffic on these roads, which staff says is a safer option with the volume of travelers expected those weekends. "We don't want to create a safety hazard by having the backup on Alcoa Highway," airport spokesperson Becky Huckaby told Knox News. McGhee Tyson will consider repeating the closures at peak travel times if the change works well, Huckaby said. The airport has encouraged travelers and anyone giving a ride to use the Hunt Road exit, which leads directly to the "phone and wait" lot, even during normal operations. "Because our curb is not for parking, it's for continuous loading and unloading only and moving on, the more we can keep that movement going through that area, the quicker everybody can get pick up their person," Huckaby said. Knox County Schools are on spring break March 17-21, meaning students are off March 15-23, including weekends. Blount County Schools are on spring break March 10-14. Alcoa City Schools and Oak Ridge City Schools get two weeks of spring break March 10-21. See the dates: When is spring break? Here are Knoxville area schools and University of Tennessee dates The airport will open a new entrance to its parking garage alongside the old entrance, which closes the week of March 10 for construction on a new parking garage. Drivers will not need to change their route to the parking garage, since the new entrance is only slightly different, Huckaby said. As the airport serves record numbers of passengers – 3.3 million in 2024 – it is building a six-story, 3,500-space parking garage set to open next to its existing parking garage in 2027. The $185 million construction project is the most expensive in airport history. The garage is part of McGhee Tyson's "Flight Plan" for $700 million of construction over the next decade to expand its terminal and the number of gates. Upgrades range from large to small, like replacing the terminal's outmoded escalators. McGhee Tyson issued its standard holiday travel tips for passengers during spring break, which include: Arriving at the airport two hours early, even for 5 a.m. flights Building in enough time to park and get to the terminal Checking for real-time parking availability Downloading airline app to get latest flight updates Packing light and in the right size of luggage Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter focused on technology and energy. Email: Signal: @danieldassow.24. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: McGhee Tyson Airport closes main entrance for spring break travel in TN
