Tampa Int'l to Add First-Class Play Areas

Tampa International Airport plans to add three more indoor child play areas by the end of August so children waiting for a flight or just getting off one can romp around.

The new play areas, which will be at least 600 square feet each, will be installed in airside terminals A, E and F and bring the number of child play areas at the airport to six.

Once the projects are complete, children at all four of the airport's outlying terminals where passengers board and depart aircraft will have a place to unwind and have fun.

The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, which oversees airport operations, voted Thursday to approve a $157,842 contract with Klondike Kidstuff Inc. of Pinehurst, N.C., to design, build and install the play areas.

"The current areas have been popular," airport Director Louis Miller said.

He said the play areas planned for airsides A and E will be at opposite ends of the terminals from existing play areas on those terminals.

One of the new play areas will feature a beach theme, another a car and train theme, and a third an outdoor adventure theme, providing children with areas to climb and slide.

Since the late 1980s, indoor play areas have become increasingly popular at U.S. airports. Increased aviation security requirements, which took hold before the Sept. 11 attacks, resulted in many airports closing outdoor observation decks to the public. Airport managers realized parents and children appreciated a place where they could spend time together waiting for flights, and the play area concept took off.

Boston's Logan International Airport opened one of the first U.S. children's airport play areas in 1987. Tampa International opened its first child's play area in October 2002.

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