Majority owner Peter Trevisani says the COVID-19 pandemic has not impacted planning for a USL Championship New Mexico United stadium in Albuquerque.
In the team’s inaugural season, New Mexico United paced USL Championship attendance rankings with 12,693 fans per game, playing out of Isotopes Park, home of the MiLB Albuquerque Isotopes (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League). That success led to talk of a stadium dedicated to pro soccer; playing at Isotopes Park may draw the crowds, but it wasn’t designed for pro soccer, and New Mexico United owners surely will want to control all the revenue streams while designing a top-notch facility dedicated to soccer.
As part of talks about a new stadium, the state of New Mexico allocated $4.1 million toward venue planning, which covers site selection and feasibility. What’s being discussed: a $100 million development anchored by the stadium, billed as an economic-development project. Financial challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic are being confronted by state legislators, but the planning money is still in place. From the Albuquerque Journal:
“The stadium is still moving forward,” Trevisani told the Journal in a recent interview, noting the initial capital outlay money allocated by the state was earmarked toward things like site feasibility analysis, economic impact surveys and even potentially securing land.
“We’re still working with the city on evaluating sites, even though we’re not sure exactly the timing. We still think we can move forward and do that evaluation. So when it’s the appropriate time to be talking about a stadium, we can be ready.”
Image courtesy New Mexico United.
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