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June 29 - A big crowd for a long-awaited event. Late Tuesday afternoon, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport opened the doors of its new Concourse C.

Hundreds attended an open house for the terminal, which will be ready for business Wednesday.

They weren’t handing out cake or champagne, but this event had the feeling of a giant party. Behind the scenes, though, it’s been a long day.

With the open house just hours away, the list of last-minute work details is long. The new concourse means a new gift shop for Deborah Bonito. She’ll now run three shops at the airport, instead of two.

“This location inside Security, I think, is going to be much better for us, because people aren’t as worried. Once they come through Security, they kind of relax a little. They have time to look around,” says Bonito, owner of Sourdough Mercantile.

Across the terminal, a new wait staff for the airports new Chili’s Too restaurant spends the day learning the menu. They open at 11 a.m. Wednesday for lunch.

The state’s first moving sidewalk is ready, and officials at Alaska Airlines say they are, too. The airline will operate all nine new gates here. But forget the conventional ticket counter you’re used to. Officials say instant travel machines will dramatically speed up your trip to the airport.

“What we’re really looking at is getting rid of lines, getting rid of that anxiety that customers have in dealing with those lines,” says Alaska Airlines spokesman Ed White.

Enthusiasm for the new project is big. Hundreds showed up for the open house. And despite cost overruns and construction delays, officials have only praise for the new facility.

“It will certainly serve Alaska well into the new century,” said Gov. Frank Murkowski, who took part in the official ribbon-cutting.

With the ceremonies over, the public gets its first chance to see it all, creating a carnival-like atmosphere. But it’s a party that will end soon. Concourse C opens very early Wednesday morning.

Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta also had a significant announcement — he’s approved a $5.3 million grant for a new building for snow removal equipment at the airport.

Transportation Security Administration workers will have to get up very early tomorrow to make the transition. Some of the machines are in place, but others will have to be moved after the last flight late Tuesday. With some of the equipment already removed from Terminal B, it created very long lines today.

The first flight is scheduled to leave about 6 a.m. Wednesday