The USO Central Florida to build a welcome center at the Orlando International Airport.
More than 10,000 soldiers, sailors and marines pass through the airport every week and they are looking for a place to stay between flights.
At more than 160 airports nationwide and around the world, including Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, and other countries, American troops and their families can find USO welcome centers, where they might connect to loved ones via Internet or phone, play a video game, relax and let their kids play, get a free snack, or have a private farewell. But for Orlano International Airport it will be the first USO welcome center for the past 15 years.
After three years of preparation works, the USO is planning to start construction on the new welcome center next month. At 3,100 square feet, it will be one of the nation’s largest and finest facilities, said Peter Giusti, executive director of USO Central Florida, a private, non-profit organization serving 14 counties from the Gulf to the East Coast.
The center planned for Orlando International Airport will be three times the size of the USO Welcome Center at Tampa airport. That USO center is about 3 years old and has drawn over 52,000 troops and family members since opening.
The new $750,000-facility will feature an etched glass and brick exterior, a kids’ area with video games and books, a commissary, quiet rooms with recliners, big-screen TVs.The welcome center will be located on the A side of the main terminal near ground transportation. The center will be able to accommodate 75 to 80 visitors at once.
10,000 service members and family members are expected to use the USO center each month, though the number could be larger. Officials project that more than 700,000 troops, veterans and their families will fly into or out of Orlando Interantional Airport this year.