Albuquerque's proposed arena

Downtown arena could raise $344 million in financing with an increase in the gross receipts tax, but the city would have to figure out another way to come up with the money for things like a proposed canopy over the railroad tracks and a parking garage. As Dan McKay reports in today’s Albuquerque Journal:

The tight economy and meltdown on Wall Street could complicate matters. The city and state governments each plan to cut spending because of lower-than-expected revenues. City Council President Brad Winter said that, amid a budget crunch, he’s skeptical about the possibility of finding money for the extra $53 million not covered by the new tax and operating revenue. “Things are just down. It’s a bad time,” he said. The developers are “not looking at reality.”

Just a few weeks ago, Mayor Chavez was sanguine about the project, saying, ““In terms of an opportune time to make an investment, if anyone’s liquid enough, these are great times.”

Chavez’s best buddy on the City Council, Debbie O’Malley (Ha ha! You know we’re kidding, right?), agrees with the mayor for once, saying, “Families are going to be out of work, and here’s an opportunity to employ hundreds of people. It’s an investment.”

The full City Council will hear about all this in a study session Thursday night and it’ll be brought up at the regular meeting on Monday.

Meanwhile, there is much buzz about that supply of brackish water discovered on the land that SunCal bought from the Atrisco Land Grant heirs. SunCal tells the Journal today that it plans to use that water as bait to lure industry to the area. Meanwhile, on the Duke City Fix, Coco wonders whether SunCal is solvent enough to survive the financial crisis and complete its project in Albuquerque.

As if the weather prediction weren’t bad enough, a fire last night caused as much as $500,000 in damage to Ski Apache in Ruidoso. Equipment in a building at the resort was damaged, according to the Ruidoso News. “The heat was so intense, pieces of the trusses warped. The cab of the snowcat melted, it was so hot, and so did the lights off the water tender,” a firefighter told the paper.

That’s not quite correct, said Sipapu General Manager Lisa Lopez.

“Last night and today it’s been snowing,” she said, estimating a total of about 4 inches. “And we make snow, too.”

Monday’s weather system may help other ski areas as well. Santa Feans were reporting 1 inch in the city, but Ski New Mexico Executive Director George Brooks said it’s just too early to tell overall.

“It depends on who you listen to,” he said. “Today’s newspaper says it’s going to be drier than normal. But the Farmer’s Almanac says it’s going to be wetter than normal.”

Um, well, not exactly.

According to the Almanac’s weather center, we might be in for a dry spell:

After warm temperatures through much of November, cold air will dominate winter, with the coldest periods in late December, early and late January, and early and mid-February. Rainfall will be much below normal, and snowfall will be below normal in areas that normally receive snow. The snowiest periods will be in late December, late January, and early February.

Cooler- and drier-than-normal weather will continue in April and May.

Nevertheless, Brooks said, Red River plans to open its runs on Nov. 26, and Santa Fe, Apache and Taos will open on Nov. 27. That portends a lot of man-made snow (read this report for concerns about artificial snow’s water consumption in Santa Fe, and this report for how it’s harming the Alpine environment).

Real snow or fake snow, Brooks said, the Thanksgiving-through-Christmas season isn’t that big of a priority on the local ski industry’s list anyway.

“If you open on Thanksgiving — and in some cases you shouldn’t — the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is very slow,” he said. “The profitable time isn’t then.”

The main reason more ski areas don’t open then isn’t just money. It’s a lack of manpower and the risk of making meltable snow too early.

“Colorado’s a different story,” he said. “There’s always a few places there that will open Thanksgiving. New Mexico’s a little less ski-populated in that regard, and people don’t get out that early.”

Should the gods of the north comply, the state’s ski industry will reap a $114 million windfall, with about $9 million sent to Santa Fe in tax revenues.

As for Sipapu, Lopez praised it as “a small resort, family-oriented with no lift lines.” No overnight rental is more than 300 yards from the lifts.

The Poma-lift and several trails will be open Saturday and Sunday. The future ski schedule runs Nov. 22-30, Dec. 6-7, and Dec. 12 through the season.