Business leaders in Southern California's Inland Empire, Albuquerque, N.M., and Colorado Springs, Colo., are lobbying hard to land two highly prized space research and development facilities that could be moved from El Segundo if the federal government decides to close the Air Force base there.
The base is one of five in the country that the Air Force may shut down as part of a government drive to reduce defense spending and streamline the military.
Closure would mean moving the base's main component, the 3,200-employee Air Force Space Systems Division, and probably the Aerospace Corp., a private, nonprofit employer of 4,000 that works closely with the Air Force division from its headquarters bordering the base.
Local business leaders have only recently begun trying to save the space facilities, considered key players in the area's aerospace industry. They are clearly unnerved by the competition from rivals in Riverside, Albuquerque and Colorado Springs, which have been mentioned as possible relocation sites.
"There is growing alarm about this," said Bill Mason, president-elect of the El Segundo Chamber of Commerce. "It would have a serious impact on business in the L.A. Basin and particularly in the South Bay area."
So far, Gov. George Deukmejian has taken a hands-off approach to the base-closing issue, reluctant to favor one California community over another. The governors of Colorado and New Mexico, however, are aggressively campaigning for the space operations, as are business groups in Albuquerque and Colorado Springs.
"Everyone is competing hard for this," said Albuquerque businessman Kenn Holzer, head of a panel that New Mexico Gov. Garrey E. Carruthers appointed in May to woo the Air Force space division. "It's like a football game."
The scramble started Jan. 29 when Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and Air Force Secretary Donald Rice unveiled a broad cost-cutting blueprint affecting Air Force bases worldwide.
Five domestic bases were earmarked for possible closure: Bergstrom AFB in Texas, Eaker AFB in Arkansas, Myrtle Beach AFB in South Carolina and Los Angeles AFB at El Segundo Boulevard and Isis Avenue.
Air Force officials say high housing costs and a scarcity of land for expansion are the main reasons the El Segundo base is included on the list. In December, Rice will make final recommendations on the proposed closing, which would require approval by Congress.
