Bathrooms, balloons and better Wi-Fi: Construction underway for infrastructure improvements at Balloon Fiesta Park

Flush with state funding, work is underway to bring permanent bathrooms to Balloon Fiesta Park.

But hold your excitement. They won’t be ready this year.

Construction has started on an infrastructure upgrade that will bring a new communications and power system, pedestrian walkway and parking — along with sewer infrastructure and the first permanent restroom building at the park, which project manager Carlos Montoya said is just the first of several.

“As someone who was born and raised here, I think everyone has been wanting permanent bathrooms at Balloon Fiesta Park,” said Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller.

A diagram provided to the Journal showed the heated and cooled structure will include two family restrooms, 46 individual stalls and 20 urinals. It will be located near the Sid Cutter Pilot’s Pavilion on the south side of Vendors Row.

Some improvements will be ready by this year’s Fiesta — although they might not all be visible. A fiber optic loop is being installed around the park. Right now, the number of people who attend Balloon Fiesta requires internet boosters. Keller said making the Wi-Fi better is important for first responders if emergencies arise.

Noisy generators will also soon be silenced. Vendors at Balloon Fiesta have had to rely on generators for power. Metal detectors and some lighting have also been difficult to power, Keller said.

“You buy your burrito and … you see the daisy chain of extension cords everywhere,” Keller said. “It’s an electrical nightmare. It has been since day one, just by a function of having to set up that many vendors with so few plug outlets.”

Phase 3 of the infrastructure project will add new electrical lines along Vendors Row. That loop will also extend electricity around the park, allowing vendors to set up on the west side of the field, Keller said.

The improvements are long-awaited.

“These are old ideas,” Keller said. “...We’ve needed these from day one.”

Montoya said he hopes all three phases of the project will be complete by Balloon Fiesta 2025. The first phase is funded with $5.8 million in state dollars. Earlier this year, the Legislature approved an additional $15.6 million in capital outlay for improvements at the park.

On Friday, patches of fresh pavement were topped with bright white stripes. Eventually, the majority of parking areas will be repaved. A new, approximately 350-car parking lot will also be added to an area that currently is home to a pile of asphalt milling, and Keller said the city is looking to buy additional lots.

Five-foot-deep trenches have already been dug near Sid Cutter Pavilion to accommodate the new power system, which tops the to-do list.

“You don’t really see it, but you need it,” Montoya said.