The Invercargill City Council has proposed that the Invercargill Airport terminal be renamed the Sir Tim Shadbolt Terminal.
A nine-term mayor, Sir Tim was not re-elected when he stood for both council and the mayoralty in October last year.
Thoughts soon turned to how to acknowledge his service to the city.
Various suggestions were thrown around, including a statue, a plaque on the Gala St fountain or renaming Gala St Reserve or Splash Palace after him.
None received much support but then the council came forward with the terminal idea.
A report to a council meeting on Tuesday suggested the Invercargill Airport terminal be renamed the Sir Tim Shadbolt Terminal.
The council through Invercargill City Holdings Ltd holds 97.47% of the shares in the airport company.
Sir Tim was a director of the airport company from 2013-19 and during his tenure there was a significant runway extension in 2003, making it the third-longest civilian runway in New Zealand, and the new terminal development, which was completed in 2016.
In 2018 Air New Zealand started a jet service from Invercargill to Auckland, its longest domestic flight, reflecting the importance of the airport as a gateway to Southland and a continuation of Sir Tim’s promotion of Invercargill.
Other options were considered, including renaming the entire airport Sir Tim Shadbolt Airport or the airport avenue Sir Tim Shadbolt Ave.
The council’s preferred position is the renaming of the terminal and two of the other shareholders were happy with the terminal renaming.
Sir Tim has been approached and is supportive of the concept.
The concept discussed with Sir Tim included naming on the exterior of the building and an internal "Welcome to the Sir Tim Shadbolt Terminal" sign. There would also be a plaque outlining his service to the city.
The council will continue to work with Sir Tim and the IAL board to achieve the desired outcomes.
The report said given the association of Sir Tim with promotion of Invercargill, service on the board of the airport company and changes made to the Invercargill Airport during his tenure, the naming of the airport terminal provided an opportunity to bring together all those aspects.
The cost is unknown but it is not expected to be high.
For departing passengers, who are in the airport for longer, there would be area which would carry an imagery of Sir Tim plus biographical information and his connection with the airport.
There would be a sign for arriving passengers which would be switched to the Sir Tim Shadbolt Terminal.
