Rural Airport in Riverside County Is Up for Sale on EBay

Riverside County officials want to get rid of a rural airport on the eastern edge of the county. So, instead of turning to a real estate agent or trying to sell it to neighboring cities, the county listed it on EBay for $2.7 million.

More than 800 online shoppers have viewed the ad, and a handful have expressed interest in purchasing Desert Center Airport, which has one runway and is about 70 miles east of Palm Springs.

“It’s a rare opportunity,” said Rob Field, the county’s aviation division supervisor. “We couldn’t afford to buy advertising. This seemed reasonable.”

The county did buy one EBay ad for $350. Field came up with the idea, hoping it was quirky enough to attract media attention.

The county decided to sell the 1,129-acre airport because it brings in revenue of about $7,200 a year and costs about $80,000 annually to maintain.

During World War II, it served as an airport for troops coming to the area for desert training. After the war, the federal government turned over the airport to the county.

Since then, recreational pilots occasionally have used the runway. Companies developing unmanned aircraft for the military test prototypes there, and television and movie producers occasionally film scenes on the rural parcel.

“It has never been heavily used,” Field said. “Desert Center is just a little bit too remote.”

It’s not the first time a municipal government has turned to EBay. Though most transactions on EBay are auctions, real estate listings are allowed to be simple advertisements because of regulatory hurdles. Buyers and sellers work out the details and complete the transaction off-site.

In addition to cities selling surplus and confiscated property, whole towns have been auctioned on the website. But EBay spokesman Chris Donlay said he could not recall any other sale involving an airport.