OC Air Show MOU Approved

OCEAN CITY — Resort officials this week approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for future Ocean City Air Show events after concerns raised last week were resolved.

Last week, the proposed MOU outlining the responsibilities of the town and the promoter of the Ocean City Air Show for 2020 and 2021 was derailed after concerns were raised about certain language regarding the flexibility of the dates. Councilman John Gehrig said the MOU as written allowed for the promoter to ostensibly move the air show dates, a responsibility he believed belonged to the town because of its fiscal contribution to the event and possible schedule conflicts with other special events.

It was pointed out the air show’s headliners, including the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, for example, often set their schedules as far as two years in advance. It was said affording the promoter some flexibility to move the event from one weekend to another helped ensure the resort got at least one of them each year. For his part, Gehrig said he understood the complexities of securing the top jet teams, but wondered if the restrictive language of the MOU was necessary.

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