New Mexico United soccer stadium clears hurdle with Environmental Planning Commission vote. What's next?

Apr. 12—A future New Mexico United soccer stadium is a little closer to the goal line after the city's Environmental Planning Commission voted 7-0 on Thursday to approve an amendment to Balloon Fiesta Park's master plan, allowing for the construction of a sports arena.

The team is hoping for a 2026 completion date, said New Mexico United President Ron Patel.

"We still have a lot of work to do with the neighbors, city and state, but today was an important and positive step to bringing a multi-use stadium to Balloon Fiesta Park," said New Mexico United owner Peter Trevisani in a statement.

The design

A parking lot on the east side of the Balloon Fiesta launch site will house the stadium. Patel said although parking will be lost in that area, through infrastructure investments there will ultimately be a net gain in parking spots.

The stadium will be able to fit approximately 10,000 people. Patel said the project's design has been substantially fleshed out and will be "uniquely New Mexican" — he added that Meow Wolf will be collaborating with the team on some of the design elements.

Residents of nearby neighborhoods, including the Wildflower Area, have raised several concerns about the stadium, including noise and light pollution and how it would impact traffic in the area. One hundred people signed up to comment at the Thursday EPC meeting.

"Look, if somebody comes to do a development near my neighborhood, I might have a concern as well," Patel said.

Patel said some of that neighborhood feedback has prompted design changes, including an updated sound and lighting system. The lighting is from the same company that manufactured the new lighting system for Isotopes Park — New Mexico United's current rental property.

Both the lighting and sound systems are designed to mitigate disturbances in neighboring areas, Patel said. The lights point down, not out, he continued, to keep 99% of the light contained within the structure. The distributed sound system directs sound toward the fans, Patel said, and uses natural and built structures to block noise pollution.

Other changes include reducing the stadium height by one story and extending the roof farther.

Building an enclosed stadium would be cost prohibitive, he said.

About that price tag — some of the changes might increase the cost. Although some changes are cost-neutral, including adding speed bumps in the Wildflower Area Neighborhood with help from the city, others are not, Patel said.

"The sound system costs a little bit more, obviously, the extension of the roof costs more," Patel said. "... Nothing's gonna cost us less."

How is it funded?

The stadium building will be built using private funds. The lease agreement requires New Mexico United to invest at least $30 million into the construction, although if costs exceed that number, city staff said the team will be on the hook to make up the difference.

The city, for its part, is required to invest in utilities and foundational work for the stadium, as well as infrastructure improvements for the entire park, using a mix of state, federal and existing city funds.

The New Mexico Legislature obliged this year, with capital outlay contributions to Balloon Fiesta Park, including $50,000 to install batting cages on the baseball fields, $100,000 for turf on the baseball fields, $15.6 million to acquire land to improve and equip Balloon Fiesta Park and $25,000 for facility improvements, including restrooms.

The 30-year lease agreement requires the team to pay the city $35,000 to use the seven-acre space at Balloon Fiesta Park, which is owned by the city of Albuquerque. Each year, the rent will increase by 2%. The city will also receive a 10% cut of any parking revenue from events held at the stadium.

Didn't City Council already approve the stadium?

Yes. In November 2023, the City Council voted 7-2 to approve the soccer stadium. But that was just the first step. The changes to the park's master plan required approval from the nine-member, volunteer Environmental Planning Commission.

But this isn't the first time the EPC has voted on the stadium project. It first voted to approve the amendments to the park's master plan in November 2023 on an 8-1 vote. That decision was appealed, with parties citing "improper mailed notice, errors in the decision-making process, and insufficient consideration of neighborhood concerns," according to the EPC's decision document.

The appeal brought the decision in front of the Land Use Hearing Officer in February. The LUHO ruled that the mailed notice for the change was incomplete, so it remanded the decision to EPC, which set a new hearing date.

Next steps?

Appeals to the EPC's new decision need to be filed within 15 days. If the decision is appealed, it will head back to the LUHO. An email sent to a representative of the Wildflower Area Neighborhood Association asking if the group planned to file an appeal was not immediately returned.

But even if the LUHO agrees with EPC's decision, that doesn't mean construction is imminent. If an appeal isn't filed, the Development Facilitation Team needs to sign off on the final site plan, ensuring the plan matches what EPC approved. Only then can a building permit be submitted.