More than 200 acres of aircraft displays, 90,000 attendees and over 27,000 glasses of lemonade brought in more than $7 million in revenue from the California Capital Airshow last year, the event’s organizers told the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors.
During a presentation Tuesday morning, California Capital Airshow reviewed the economic impact of last year’s event ahead of its return this month.
This year’s airshow will be held at Mather Airport on March 22-23 in honor of the 250 anniversary of the U.S. Navy, according to the event’s website. The California Capital Airshow will welcome the Navy’s Blue Angels during their show.
Felipe Fuentes, a board member of the Capital Airshow Group, said last year’s July event brought “increased revenue” to more than 500 local businesses from visitors. Last year’s show also supported the development of local hotels, restaurants and event vendors.
“It was fun for everybody and very productive from an economic perspective,” Fuentes said.
Described as a “world class event” by Rancho Cordova Mayor Siri Pulipati, she added that the airshow plays a crucial role to the city by boosting its local economy, creating jobs and increasing tourism to the area.
“We bring this event to our city to not just showcase the beautiful aerial performance in the air but also the career opportunities that could stem because of this,” Pulipati said.
With the addition of the Blue Angels, the city of Rancho Cordova expects to receive more revenue from the airshow compared to last and years prior, said Maria Kniestedt, the communications director for Rancho Cordova. In 2020, the airshow brought in $6.8 million in the county and $7.1 million in the greater region.
The California Capital Airshow has used its profits to create scholarships for students, raising more than $600,000, said Stephen Clark, who represents the Sacramento County Department of Airports. He said these scholarships have been awarded to 276 local students.
“These are students that are getting exposed to aviation and STEM careers via hands-on workshops, mentorship from industry professionals,” Clark said. “(They’re) getting an opportunity to actually physically get and see what it looks like to touch aviation and STEM opportunities that they would never get an opportunity to do.”
Supervisor Pat Hume, who represents District 5, praised the Capital Airshow Group, saying the event exists to “fund the programs that open up young minds to the possibilities in aviation and STEM careers in artificial intelligence.”
“It’s the spectacle of what happens in the sky, it’s the patriotism that you witness on the ground, and it’s just the exposure to so many amazing people doing amazing things,” Hume said.
Since 2004, the California Capital Airshow has been a long tradition in Sacramento County, according to the Capital Airshow Group. Phil Serna, the Sacramento County Board Chair, called the event “part of our culture here in our region.”
“It’s not just a an event that the whole region looks forward to every year, but it has this, I would say, even higher purpose,” Serna said.
Tickets can be purchased at eventsprout.com/event/cca-mar-2025. According to the California Capital Airshow’s website, attendees cannot buy tickets during the event.
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 7:00 AM.
The Sacramento Bee
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Emma Hall covers Sacramento County for The Sacramento Bee. Hall graduated from Sacramento State and Diablo Valley College. She is Blackfeet and Cherokee.