The Fort Worth City Council passed a resolution June 14 honoring the late North Texas business icon and philanthropist Ross Perot Sr. by renaming Alliance Airport as Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport.
“This is long overdue. I am honored to be the council member sponsoring this,” District 7 Councilman Leonard Firestone said. “Ross Sr., Jr., and the family – all they’ve done out there is so great, and they’ve done so much for so many people.”
In May 1988 Ross Perot Sr. and his son Ross Perot Jr. donated over 380 acres of land through Alliance Airport Ltd. (a Perot company) to support the development of the world’s first industrial airport. Throughout the years the airport has grown to approximately 1,198 acres and serves as the premier destination for aviation and global logistics customers, contributing to the growing economic success for the region.
In additions to his legendary accomplishments in the business world – he was an early innovator in the computer industry with his founding of data processing service company EDS – H. Ross Perot Sr. made two unsuccessful runs at the U.S. presidency, as an independent in 1992 and as a member of the Reform Party in 1996. In his first campaign he garnered 19% of the popular vote and nearly 20 million votes.
Perot Sr. passed away in July 2019 at the age of 89.
“Ross Perot Sr.’s vision for north Fort Worth led to incredible commercial and residential growth in the area,” District 3 Councilman Michael Crain said. “That vision has led to national and international recognition of Fort Worth as a business-friendly environment. I can think of no more fitting memorialization of his leadership than naming the airport he founded in his honor.”