sa国际传媒官网网页入口

Who doesn鈥檛 want a brand new 10,000-seat, $50 million-plus multiuse soccer stadium?

About 65% of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 voters, that鈥檚 who. That鈥檚 if taxpayers are on the hook to make it happen.

After suffering one of the biggest rebuffs during his tenure as mayor, and of his political career as a whole, Mayor Tim Keller is again pitching a soccer stadium for the Duke City.

The mayor announced at a luncheon with a commercial real estate group Tuesday that the city could break ground on a New Mexico United stadium at Balloon Fiesta Park as soon as this winter.

鈥淥bviously, it鈥檚 not a done deal,鈥� Keller said. 鈥�(But) we鈥檙e not giving up, and we鈥檙e going to do the stadium.鈥�

Critics of the mayor鈥檚 vision of a professional soccer stadium say he just doesn鈥檛 get it. In 2021, the city proposed to lease a new city-owned stadium to United, using $50 million in gross tax receipt-funded bonds to build it. United pledged to contribute $10 million upfront to the stadium鈥檚 $65 million construction costs and pay $900,000 annually to use it.

The popular USL Championship soccer team has been playing at Isotopes Park since its inception in 2018. The soccer team understandably wants its own stadium, with seating designed for a soccer pitch, not a baseball field it sublets. And the Isotopes have made it no secret they鈥檇 like United to stop tearing up its turf. The soccer pitch was reoriented 7% this year at Isotopes Park to avoid the need to rebuild the pitcher鈥檚 mound after every United match. Still, that clearly is not an ideal fit.

The second-tier professional soccer team poured $871,026 into an advertising effort to promote the bonds, but the proposal went over like a lead balloon and support from Keller waned considerably in the weeks before the November 2021 Local Election.

Voters rejected the fraught bond measure by a nearly 2-1 margin. Even the ballot question was messed up. The question about the soccer stadium initially asked voters if the city should finance a multiuse public stadium with up to $50 million of gross receipt tax revenue bonds. However, the oval boxes 鈥� where you actually mark your vote 鈥� asked if voters were in favor of issuing general obligation bonds. There鈥檚 a big difference there. GO bonds, which do not technically require voter approval, are paid off with property taxes. GRT bonds are paid off with taxes assessed on the sale of goods and services.

The rushed printing of the ballots was indicative of the rushed nature of the overall proposal, which was unveiled just three months before early voting began. It just wasn鈥檛 ready for prime time, evidenced by the fact the $50 million bond was the only one voters rejected in the November 2021 Local Election, and by a 30-point margin at that.

We credit the mayor for seeing the light. Keller now says unlike two years ago, the stadium project will be mostly privately funded. That is a critical point. The prospect of public financing is what doomed the stadium proposal two years ago. The state has appropriated $8.5 million to the city for a stadium鈥檚 infrastructure investment, with an additional $5 million in capital outlay. But besides that state money, the team, not the city, would now be responsible for building the stadium using private funds.

That solves that problem, if United can actually raise $50 million-plus of private funds to build the stadium.

Keller said the new structure will occupy a corner of Balloon Fiesta park. That solves another problem. Voters were asked to approve the $50 million bond in 2021 without knowing exactly where the stadium would be built, other than at a site in the South Broadway neighborhood or one in Barelas. City officials had said they wouldn鈥檛 pick a location until voters approved the bonds. While that may have been fiduciarily sound to prevent a spike in the property鈥檚 selling price, the sequence seemed backward to many voters.

Knowing now where the stadium would be built 鈥� in a large parking area to the east of the launch field at Balloon Fiesta Park that鈥檚 avoided by balloonists because of tall power lines 鈥� solves that problem. The area is also sunken, so it would have a low profile at Fiesta Park, which has close proximity to Interstate 25. Not interfering with balloon operations is also critical. Balloon Fiesta generated $119 million in direct spending by fiesta guests last year, almost $20 million in tax revenues and attracted nearly 828,800 guest visits. We can鈥檛 compromise the city鈥檚 signature event.

We would like to hear a commitment from United that it won鈥檛 host any games during Balloon Fiesta week or the prior week. There鈥檚 plenty of room at Balloon Fiesta Park for a stadium, but only for 50 weeks out of the year.

Keller says there is currently no site plan and the city is in the early stages of designing building infrastructure and amending the park鈥檚 master plan to allow for a stadium. He鈥檇 better get one soon if he truly wants construction to begin in a matter of months. The City Council would need to sign off on any land lease, and councilors and citizens are going to want specifics, such as what would be the city鈥檚 costs 鈥� if any- in preparing the fiesta property for a soccer stadium. Keller says no portion of the city-owned park would be sold or gifted to the soccer team, and that鈥檚 also important. So, what is the arrangement?

sa国际传媒官网网页入口 could be on the cusp of something big, really big, a 10,000- to 12,000-seat stadium that could be used not only for professional soccer, but also for concerts, youth sports and other events that could draw New Mexicans from every corner of the state. It could be the shot in the arm the city needs as it struggles with crime, homelessness, poor education, and slow economic and population growth.

If the city can fill in the remaining blanks and be transparent about all the associated costs, maybe it really can break ground on a transformative soccer stadium this winter.