Trevisani excited about stadium prospects at Balloon Fiesta Park

Peter Trevisani is understandably excited, but New Mexico United’s CEO/president does not intend to get ahead of himself.

Last week’s news that United has reached a lease agreement with the City of Albuquerque for a potential stadium site at Balloon Fiesta Park certainly brought a smile to Trevisani’s face. Building a permanent home for New Mexico’s popular USL Championship club has topped Trevisani’s to-do list since United was announced as an expansion team in 2018.

The project has encountered significant speed bumps along the way. Voters rejected a proposed city-funded downtown stadium in 2021, and Trevisani has largely played his cards on alternative options close to the vest ever since.

But news surfaced earlier this year about discussions between United and the city about Balloon Fiesta Park becoming a possible stadium site. The idea moved a step closer to reality when a lease agreement requiring $30 million in initial private funding and annual rent payments to the city beginning at $35,000 was announced last week. The agreement was to be introduced at Albuquerque’s City Council on Monday night and is scheduled for a council hearing and vote on Oct. 16.

It’s a crucial step for United, which currently subleases Isotopes Park for home games but cannot continue to play there indefinitely. The USLC has mandated that its clubs must be based in soccer-specific stadiums by 2026. San Diego Loyal SC recently announced it will cease operations at season’s end after failing to secure a stadium agreement.

With that in mind, Trevisani said United has not finalized plans for a potential Balloon Fiesta Park stadium, including its initial size and even whether the playing surface would be grass or artificial turf.

Still, Trevisani said he is confident the project will receive City Council approval.

“I think the City Council has been great along the way,” Trevisani said. “I’m not a politician, but I truly believe they want to make Albuquerque the best version of itself possible. This is not a red-blue issue — it’s not even a red-green issue. This is about building a stadium with private funding that makes the city better. I think it’s a win-win.”

Speaking to reporters after United’s 2-0 win over Louisville City FC late Saturday night, Trevisani declined to give specifics on the initial size or construction costs/timeline for a new stadium.

He did share thoughts about how the facility could be used.

On bringing a women’s professional soccer team to Albuquerque: “We have to bring forward a women’s team. Exactly what level that will be initially, we’ll see. But I know in my heart of hearts we will have a women’s team with New Mexico on its jerseys. We can’t have that now because of space and scheduling at Isotopes Park. A new stadium makes it possible.”

On high school soccer games at the stadium: “We want to have high school games. There are things in (the lease agreement) that call for that, things that benefit United and things that benefit the city and Balloon Fiesta Park, including us not playing games during Balloon Fiesta and hosting high school games at the stadium.”

On how a stadium would fit into the Balloon Fiesta Park area: “Working with Balloon Fiesta has been amazing. We’ve found that working together can be collaborative. They’re lacking things like bathrooms and water hookups, which this will address. ... We want the stadium to help the area develop in a way that’s respectful to the neighbors and businesses who are there now.”

On natural grass versus artificial turf: “My heart says grass, my wallet says turf. Everyone likes playing on grass, but there’s a balance to consider because we want to have women’s games and high school games and you can’t play on grass every day. There’s also the expense of watering to consider. We’ll probably make that decision as late in the process as possible.”