NEWS
Governor, local leaders vote to build sports stadium, housing at fairgrounds
No decision was made about moving the annual event
Published
Modified
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and other local leaders voted Monday to build a sports stadium and mixed-income housing on the southwest corner of the New Mexico State Fairgrounds.
The vote made no decision over whether the New Mexico State Fair will ultimately move, a sticking point for many residents who oppose the project. This development, called Phase One, will see the annual event operating as normal while demolition and construction are underway around it.
The decision came down to a 6-1 vote, with Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa voting against it.
“I am not against a stadium,” Barboa said. “I want due process, I want community and I want things that are binding.”
Barboa voted no after her motion to defer the vote for one month narrowly failed.
The following State Fairgrounds District Board members voted yes to Phase One: Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, City Councilor Nichole Rogers, Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, Lujan Grisham, Rep. Janelle Anyanonu, D-Albuquerque, and Peter Belletto, the president of the District 6 Neighborhood Coalition.
The vote gives the green light for the state to spend $114 million in appropriations from the Legislature once the fiscal year begins in July. That investment is expected to generate $5.7 million a year in tax earnings, double what the State Fair currently produces, according to project consultants.
Today’s move puts Phase One of the project’s price tag at around $200 million when combined with previously approved bonds.
“What we hope occurs, what we believe occurs, is, once you spend 200 million, the amount of money that keeps coming in allows you to spend a billion dollars,” Lujan Grisham said.
Phase One will also include infrastructure maintenance for the State Fair and add permanent retail space.
With the project now approved, the state can begin looking for private partners, one of which is rumored to be the New Mexico United soccer team.
Both Keller and Lujan Grisham suggested that United may be interested in the proposed stadium, though nothing is concrete.
“We've never had a team that really puts butts in seats and that we can build around,” Keller said. “And so they're the team. They're the best we got right now.”
United CEO Peter Trevisani offered to put down $30 million of its own funds “for the right project,” according to a statement issued after the vote.
The city has so far failed to find a home for a United stadium after considering sites in Downtown, near the University of New Mexico and Balloon Fiesta Park.
Though the project was approved to be built at the Balloon Fiesta Park in 2023, a lawsuit by three nearby neighborhood associations has halted all progress as the suit makes its way through the state Court of Appeals.
It’s unclear what would become of the Balloon Fiesta project and lawsuit if the company opts for another site.
Slow down or hurry up
Before the vote, Barboa proposed deferring the decision for a month so that the board could first vote on a community benefit agreement, which sets out requirements for development, such as local hiring.
Lujan Grisham said such a move was “putting the cart before the horse.”
The deferral ultimately failed on a 4-3 vote, which Barboa said led her to vote no on Phase One plans.
Though they ultimately voted yes on the final approval, Rogers and Anyanonu banded with Barboa to vote for a one-month deferral.
“We want to make sure that everybody benefits for generations from what we are doing,” Rogers said. “Right now we have that opportunity.”
As a compromise, the board is set to discuss a community benefits agreement at the next meeting.
While Barboa said the project is moving ahead too quickly, for the outgoing governor, the process is not moving fast enough.
Governors and municipal leaders have tried and failed to redevelop fairgrounds for four decades, Lujan Grisham said. Now that the project has the financial backing, any delay is a waste of taxpayer dollars.
“The longer we wait, the more expensive these (plans) will get,” Lujan Grisham said.
Gillian Barkhurst is the local government reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.
