Richards Field

The airport, known for most of its life as Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base and later Air Reserve Station, was closed as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommendations of 1991 and 1993. The end of the Cold War led to a nationwide reduction in military infrastructure. The primary flying unit, the 442d Fighter Wing and its A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, was relocated to Whiteman Air Force Base, making the airfield redundant. Economically, its role as a potential major civilian airport had ended decades earlier with the construction of Kansas City International Airport (MCI).

The former airport site has been completely redeveloped into the CenterPoint Intermodal Center-Kansas City, a massive industrial and logistics park. The runways and taxiways have been largely demolished or repurposed as streets, such as 'Runway Drive' and 'Control Tower Drive'. The area is now home to large distribution centers for companies like Amazon and a major rail-truck intermodal facility operated by the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) railway. A few original military buildings remain, including the former base headquarters which now houses the National Weather Service Training Center and other federal agencies. The large hangars have been repurposed for industrial use.

The airport has a rich and varied history. It began in 1941 as the civilian Grandview Airport. During WWII, it was used by the U.S. Navy for training. In 1952, the U.S. Air Force took control and established Grandview Air Force Base, a key Cold War installation. In 1957, it was renamed Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in honor of two Kansas City-area aviators killed in action. It served as a vital Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor base, housing units like the 326th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron flying aircraft such as the F-102 Delta Dagger and F-106 Delta Dart to protect the central United States. For a brief period from 1968 to 1972, it also functioned as a commercial airport (IATA: GVW, ICAO: KGVW) for Kansas City, hosting major airlines like TWA, Braniff, and Ozark, while the new Kansas City International Airport (MCI) was being completed. After its active-duty mission ended, it became an Air Force Reserve station and the headquarters for the Air Force Communications Command.

There are no plans or prospects for reopening Richards Field as an airport. The aviation infrastructure, including the primary runways, has been permanently removed, and the land has been sold and extensively redeveloped for industrial and commercial use. Re-establishing an airport on the site would be logistically and financially infeasible.