At a ceremony in Santa Maria, city officials and museum representatives marked the inauguration of the Planes of Fame Air Museum’s new campus and announced the start of construction on Building A, a little more than 56,000 square feet, City Manager Dave Rollins said.

Museum and city leaders said the campus will serve as a civic and regional attraction, host veterans’ events, bring students to learning programs and support ongoing air-show and flight‑experience operations. The museum’s collection totals more than 160 aircraft, and several dozen of those are expected to move to the new Santa Maria campus, according to remarks at the event.

City Manager Dave Rollins, speaking on behalf of Mayor Alice Petino and the City Council, said the museum will draw regional visitors and provide educational opportunities for local students. He said the campus will also support the Central Coast Air Fest and the museum’s Flight Experience Ride program. “Thank you all for being part of this journey, and I look forward to welcoming you to this new chapter of the Planes of Fame Air Museum,” Rollins said.

An event speaker noted that Les, the museum board president, brought a replica of the Electra related to Amelia Earhart to the ceremony. The speaker said the museum plans to use the Santa Maria airport for flight demonstrations and to continue producing the Central Coast Air Fest. The speaker also highlighted the region’s aviation training history, noting Allan Hancock College’s aeronautics program and its role in training pilots who flew earlier military and civilian aircraft.

Museum and local aviation leaders said the Central Coast Jet Center and the Santa Maria airport remain important for wildfire response: airtanker bases at the airport load fire retardant for regional deployments. Organizers said existing museum activities — including flight demonstrations, air shows and the Flight Experience Ride program — are planned to move operations to the new campus, though a timeline for full relocation and public opening was not specified at the ceremony.

Details announced at the event include that Building A will contain a large main exhibition hangar intended to display many World War II‑era aircraft. The museum currently reports a collection of more than 160 aircraft and expects to transfer several dozen aircraft to the Santa Maria site; exact counts, a schedule for moves and opening-date details were not provided at the event.

The ceremony emphasized anticipated economic benefits: officials said visiting attendees would support local hotels and restaurants, and the museum would draw school groups to campus programs. Organizers and the city did not provide a full funding breakdown or an explicit construction schedule during the remarks.

The inauguration combined museum remarks and city welcome remarks; attendees and officials described a multi‑year effort that began in 2022 to establish the campus in Santa Maria. Further operational details, including timelines for Building A completion and any required permitting or external approvals, were not specified during the event.