DAYTON — The Vectren Dayton Air Show has been postponed from the original dates of June 27 and 28 and organizers are looking to some weekends in August as possibilities to still hold the show.
Air show organizers said the usual things impacting how many people attend the show include weather and whether there is a jet team headlining the show.
The decision to postpone could mean losing out on the jet team, which was scheduled to be the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.
Air show board member, Mike Emoff, said the decision to move this year’s show was a quick one.
“The decision for us to not be one of the first venues for mass gatherings of our citizens in the region would have been a little too risky for us at that point in time," Emoff said.
The Blue Angels and the U.S Air Force Thunderbirds are two of the biggest attendance drivers.
In fact, the show has two attendance goals: one for when they have a jet team scheduled and one for when they don’t. With a jet team, they expect 60,000 guests and without, they expect 35,000.
Emoff told News Center 7 it is likely they will still be able to book the Blue Angels, but it’s also a possibility they may not be able to land them for the event.
The two weekends the air show is looking at: August 8-9 and 22-23. Those weekends are in the running for possibilities, because the Blue Angels have those weekends open.
“It’s important for the board to produce the show in Dayton," said Emoff. "Dayton needs the show - they need to have something that brings back some things that we consider to be normal. And having the show every summer has been normal. And it’s a good stability sign.”
Emoff said the Dayton Air Show will have social distancing and sanitizing measures ready.
The new date for the 2020 show is expected to be announced before June 1st.
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