The Reno-Tahoe International Airport Authority plans to price $362 million in airport revenue bonds on Monday to help fund its capital improvement plan.
The $1.362 billion capital improvement program, known as MoreRNO, will help the airport expand to meet the demands of a northern Nevada region experiencing tremendous growth, as a result of an onslaught of industry that began moving into the region.
Over the past decade, Reno has attracted substantial investment from blue chip technology companies and major corporations, partly as a result "of Nevada's business-friendly environment as well as tax incentives, which have encouraged companies to expand and relocate into the region," according to the online investor presentation for the deal.
Ahead of the deal, Moody's Ratings revised its outlook to positive on its A3 rating of the airport authority's revenue bonds.
The brighter outlook recognizes a "strong trend of durable post-pandemic enplanement growth coupled with the airport's progress on its transformative MoreRNO capital program," the rating agency said.
The finance team estimated in the road show the region is experiencing $26.6 billion in investments from projects underway or completed. Those include the Microsoft Victory Logistics District Fernley, the expansion of the Tesla Gigafactory, Vantage Data Centers and the Redwood Materials plant.
In the decade ending in 2024, the population of the airport's market penetration area grew by 8.5% to 1.1 million people, according to the presentation.
The deal joins an onslaught of paper being issued
Lead manager Ramirez, joined by co-managers BofA Securities, Jefferies LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, will price the debt in two tranches including $354 million in Series 2026A airport revenue bonds with interest subject to the alternative minimum tax, and $8 million in non-AMT Series 2026B airport revenue bonds. The first tranche carries maturities of 2027 to 2056 and the second tranche has maturities ranging from 2028 to 2056.
Bond proceeds, including debt already issued, are expected to fund 47% of its $1.362 billion capital improvement program, according to bond documents.
The CIP includes $1.07 billion in funding for its MoreRNO program, which will relieve congestion and provide additional capacity to landside facilities, replace its aging terminals and improve its 24 gates, which were built in 1981 and modernize the terminal building.
The Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority was established by the Nevada Legislature on July 1, 1977, and took over stewardship of the airport on July 1, 1978.
The authority owns, operates and manages both the Reno-Tahoe International Airport and the general aviation Reno-Stead Airport. RNO serves the Reno-Carson City area, which has a population of 785,000, but the population of the airport's catchment area is 1.1 million, according to the presentation.
The airport is currently served by 10 passenger airlines and three cargo airlines providing domestic as well as international flights. The three largest are Southwest Airlines with 39% of traffic, United Airlines with 18% of traffic and American Airlines with 14% of traffic.
The region also has a robust tourism industry and drew 3.9 million visitors to the area in 2025, according to the presentation.
Enplanements have increased at a compounded annual growth rate of 2.1% since 2019 to an estimated 2.5 million this year and are expected to reach 2.8 million by 2033, according to the road show.
S&P Ratings assigned its A rating and KBRA assigned its A-plus rating to the bonds ahead of the deal. S&P and KBRA assigned stable outlooks.
The airport's "growth in non-airline revenues has outpaced passenger growth from fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2026," according to the road show. The authority's "strong cash liquidity position," with 547 days cash on hand as of June 30, 2025, provides additional financial flexibility, the investor presentation said.
