Auction held at old MBS International Airport - ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI

(01/23/13) - Hundreds of items were auctioned off Wednesday at the old MBS International Airport terminal in Freeland.

It was back in October when the new terminal opened up.

The old terminal was not just a place where passengers waited for flights. It was also home to a restaurant and banquet center.

The Skyroom was where thousands of weddings and proms were held since the 1960s, so in a way, there were a lot of memories on the auction block.

Pots and pans, fine china, anything you might find in a restaurant business went to the highest bidder.

"These were up in the Skyroom, my daughter loves Red Bull, so I'm going to surprise her," said Bruce Koski, of Auburn.

Koski worked with Northwest Airlines at MBS and retired in 2002.

"You see how this place grew, and now it's going to be demolished, there are a lot of memories," he said.

That's right, the old terminal, along with the Skyroom and views of the runways, will be knocked down.

"The last meal was served here on December 30th, we hosted a wedding," said Tom Wood, of Sullivan's Black Forest.

Wood has been running the banquet center for the past two years. Before it was a banquet center, the Skyroom offered fine dining.

"The new modern airports are food courts, convenience, grab and go," Wood said.

Tim Sullivan wanted to keep the Skyroom open.

"When I was in high school, in 1972, right where we are standing, I had my high school prom here," he said. "It's kind of tragic, because you have 45 years of goodwill. The Skyroom is a dinosaur, it's gone."

So the auction was held. The Freeland Lions Club was looking for a deal.

"We were looking to get some poker chips, maybe some poker tables, maybe some of the hot boxes for the food," said Adam Anderson, of Freeland.

Koski says he hopes to make one more visit to the old airport.

"I'm hoping to get a brick when they tear it down," he said.

No date has been set for the old MBS terminal demolition.