FESTUS — First it was the Foghat concert. Now, an ongoing saga between city officials and airport managers over the fate of the Festus Memorial Airport has claimed another victim: the Balloon Glow.

Organizers of the October event had to scramble to find another venue for the third annual Jefferson Community College Foundation's fundraiser after Festus officials denied a special event permit. City officials said they didn't want to risk damage to the property while it is part of a pending real estate deal.

City leaders did the same when members of the Citizens for Airport Economic Expansion, which also manages the city's airport, tried to plan a Foghat concert there to help raise money to buy the airport. Neighboring Herculaneum officials agreed to host the event just weeks before the June concert.

The Balloon Glow was set for Oct. 10. Now, it has been rescheduled to Oct. 3 at the college's Hillsboro campus, with a fraction of the hot air balloons and crowd expected to attend, said Carol Kline, executive director of the college's nonprofit foundation.

And the real estate deal that doomed both events is dead.

"I'm very disappointed," Kline said. "It kind of threw us for a loop. It's a shame. It grew so tremendously, I was envisioning it growing into a full-fledged air event. This changes my plans a little bit, but I wanted to keep the momentum going."

Last year, the balloon glow was an all-day event at the airport, with about a dozen hot air balloons. This year, it will feature three balloons. The college campus offers parking for about 2,000 cars where the airport could accommodate about 3,500 cars. Kline said she hopes to return the event to the airport in the future.

"I didn't think it was going to be an issue because everything was the same as it was last year," Kline said. "I thought asking permission was just a formality. I had no idea they would say, 'No.' They said it was in midst of a sale and I reminded them that it was up for sale last year, but they still did not want to give permission this year."

The city of Festus owns the airport, which is situated in Crystal City and managed by the Citizens for Airport Economic Expansion.

For years, Festus officials have maintained that the airport land would make more money for the city if it were developed as something else.

The managers have pushed expansion plans, arguing that a bigger airport would provide an economic boost to the city.

Last year, the city put the airport up for sale.

The two sides appeared to have come to an agreement when the management group offered the highest bid for the property, $2.27 million. City leaders accepted the offer last November.

The deal was set to close Aug. 17. But that day came and went.

Festus Finance Director Pat Parsons said the city did not resolve some title issues involving easements on the property in time for the closing, but still is interested in selling to the management group. "These are all the city's issues," said Steve Vogt, a member of the management group. "The ball is in their court. "We're interested in purchasing it if all the issues can be resolved."

In the meantime, city leaders will not allow public events on the property, Parsons said.

"We are trying to make it a multi-use facility," Vogt said. "We never wanted it to be a rich playboy pilot's club, we wanted to expand and improve it and see it grow because the local economy needs to grow, and doing events there makes that all the much better."

But the bickering about the moratorium on public events at the airport may soon take a back seat to the next chapter that's brewing between city officials and airport management leaders.

City leaders now are reviewing whether to renew the management contract with the Citizens for Airport Economic Expansion.

That contract expired the day the real estate deal fell through.