BRUNSWICK, Maine — The U.S. Navy Blue Angels will return to Brunswick in 2017 for the Great State of Maine Air Show, with another show tentatively scheduled for 2019.
The Navy announced this week that the Blue Angels would fly at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station the weekend of Aug. 26-27, 2017, two years after their performance at the 2015 Great State of Maine Air Show earlier this year.
The 2017 show will be produced by The Air Show Company, a private company, which also produced the 2015 show, according to Steve Levesque, executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, the entity charged with redeveloping the former Navy base.
The Air Show Company has a three-show agreement with MRRA to operate the 2015, 2017 and 2019 air shows, Levesque said. The 2019 show is contingent on the Blue Angels or another aerobatic jet team agreeing to participate.
Before the air station closed as a military installation in 2011, admission to the air shows was free to the public and the two-day events sometimes attracted well more than 100,000 attendees.
The 2011 edition, which took place just after the base closure and included ticket fees for the first time because it was no longer sponsored by the Navy, featured the Blue Angels and drew 25,000 fans.
The following year, that attendance reportedly increased to more than 40,000, as the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds claimed the main event spotlight.
A show scheduled for September 2013 was canceled that March after Congress failed to reach spending sequestration cuts and the Navy canceled performances by the Blue Angels.
The 2015 show drew more than 40,000, Levesque said Friday.