Albuquerque officials have said they will not decide where to build a multi-use soccer stadium unless and until city voters approve a $50 million bond for the proposed project, and that options are not limited to the two “preferred” sites identified by a consultant.
But the city has begun contacting private property owners at those consultant-favored sites – Coal/Broadway and Second Street/Iron – to gauge their willingness to sell their land to the city.
The Journal has submitted public records requests seeking the letters sent by the city, but has not yet received those records.
The city has not initiated similar stadium-related communication with property owners elsewhere, a city spokesman said.
CAA ICON, which authored the city’s stadium feasibility analysis, explored four locations for the sporting venue it estimates will cost between $65 million and $70 million, excluding land acquisition.
The other two sites were the city-owned Rail Yards, and the area near 12th Street and Interstate 40.
The four sites’ current occupants and owners include a mix of businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, several houses and some empty land, according to county property records. Among the properties on 2nd and Iron are 1.3 acres and a 40,000-square-foot warehouse owned by Journal Publishing Co., which publishes the Albuquerque Journal. The Rail Yards site is owned entirely by the city of Albuquerque, and the Sawmill area site would affect a Public Service Company of New Mexico substation, among other owners.
