New Mexico United scores a stadium bond from the city

New Mexico United is a step closer to a new stadium.

Albuquerque city councilors approved the city’s sale of a $30 million revenue bond to the United Soccer League (USL) club to build its stadium at Balloon Fiesta Park.

“The team in this case is responsible for the purchase of the bonds; it’s a private placement where they go and arrange this. There are no city funds that go to this,” Christopher Chavez, who works in the city’s Economic Development Department, told councilors Monday night.

The approval of the bond also grants the club a 20-year, 75% tax abatement on the project.

In 2021, voters rejected a $50 million publicly funded bond for a Downtown-area stadium, sending United on a search for a new location. In November 2023, the City Council approved its application to build at the northeast city site.

Some $14 million has been allocated to the stadium project by the state, though it will be — and some already has been — used to improve the infrastructure at Balloon Fiesta Park, according to the team’s spokesperson David Wiese-Carl.

Councilor Joaquín Baca sponsored the measure even though the project is not in his district because Councilor Brook Bassan, who represents the area where the stadium will be built, declined to due to pending litigation.

“There is currently a land use appeal occurring on this matter, so I have some concerns,” Bassan said. “This is not against United; this is me listening to my constituents as well.”

She was the lone vote against selling the bond.

In September, the Wildflower, Maria Dier and North Edith Corridor neighborhood associations appealed the City Council’s Aug. 24, 2024, decision to deny an appeal of the planning process. Bassan was the lone vote against.

The USL requires its franchises to have dedicated soccer-only stadiums with a minimum capacity of 5,000 in place by 2026. The team currently plays at Isotopes Park, the home of the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes baseball team.

United will not meet that deadline, but the league is being gracious, according to club President Ron Patel.

“A privately funded United stadium will be an economic boost for the city, bringing hundreds of new jobs for workers and giving families a new, world-class entertainment venue,” Sara Mannal, a spokesperson for the city’s Economic Development Department, said in a statement.

She noted that the stadium’s fate is contingent on the land use appeal.

“While IRBs are an economic development tool and tax incentive that will help bring this project to life, the stadium is contingent on the court’s decision,” Mannal said.