Does Albuquerque need an arena?
What do you think about the proposed arena for downtown Albuquerque? In official parlance, the "downtown events center" would include an arena, a retail and entertainment district, and a new hotel. And just last month, the City Council allocated $700,000 for an impact study of the idea.
This project would change the landscape of downtown Albuquerque dramatically. We're talking bigger and denser.
The main impetus is increasing the capacity in the city for conventions. Albuquerque currently just simply isn't able to compete for conventions beyond a certain size. Given the many attractions we offer here in New Mexico, additional space should bring a lot more people and money to Albuquerque, which would do a lot for the tourism sector. In the midst of today's economic climate its an enticing thought.
But do we really need a stadium with all its attendant public subsidies? Why isn't a convention center expansion and additional hotel space good enough? And how will the city provide parking for all those people coming to an arena that will be right next door to some of the cities most historic neighborhoods?
I don't know the answer to these questions, but I intend to pay a lot of attention to the discussion.
One way to find out more is to attend a New Mexico First special town hall on July 17 devoted to this topic. We're sure to hear a lot of cheerleading for this project, so I was glad to see they're bringing Haywood Sanders to give his perspective on stadiums and cities. He wrote a book called Field of Schemes, in which he critically looks at the (lack of) public benefits derived from enormous public dollars spent on arenas around the nation.
According to Megan Kamerick of the NM Biz Weekly, Councilor Ike Benton said this about the impact study: "I think people realize this is a very compelling idea," he said. "It's compelling enough as an idea that we ought to look at it and give it fair consideration."
Very true -- it's compelling. It's also a huge investment with a lot of consequences, and deserves a lot of scrutiny.
Comments:
Posted 07/03/2008 21:39 with
“Why isn’t a convention center expansion and additional hotel space good enough?”
A fine question!
As someone who’s just moved to ABQ I have to say the sprawl here and lack of significant “dense areas” (this has got to be the smallest downtown for a metro area of 800k in the country) is frustrating. I would love to see energy and effort go into bolstering downtown as a worthwhile destination.
At the same time, I don’t see what functions an arena would serve, especially since there’s already the Pit, right? Seems like a better convention center and hotel offerings would make Albuquerque more enticing but would avoid the money pit an arena could become. Hopefully your question will be addressed.
Posted 07/07/2008 20:25 with
If an arena is necessary, why not utilize the Expo site, soon to be abandoned by the Racino? Certainly there s parking and access.
To encourage a broader diversity in the Downtown area, in addition to a new hotel, why not focus on different activities than entertainment? For instance, develop the Railyard area in Barelas. What if there were to be a grocery store on the first floor, some shops on the second floor and a restaurant on the top floor? Then more shops would develop along the tracks between the Alvarado Center and the Railyard area, and would expand down Central. Such an emphasis would bring needed stores to the area—try getting groceries if you live in the new infill areas in the downtown sector without driving—and would diversify the opportunities for all.
Posted 07/11/2008 15:38 with
There is actually (somewhat ironically) a meeting on Expo use this coming week…
What: EXPO NM RFI—Information Session
When: Friday, July 18th, 10:00 AM
Where: EXPO New Mexico grounds
How: More info at the Governor’s Website: http://www.governor.state.nm.us/index2.php
The state has released a Request for Information to seek ideas and information for the redevelopment of EXPO New Mexico into what Gov. Bill Richardson calls a “21st century showcase.”
The Department of Finance and Administration released the RFI today as part of a planning process to renovate the existing state fairgrounds in a way that complements the surrounding communities and makes good use of state resources.
A pre-response meeting consisting of a question and answer information session as well as a tour of the site will be held at the EXPO New Mexico grounds at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 18, 2008.
More info at the Governor’s Website: http://www.governor.state.nm.us/index2.php