NM United is in line for practice facility upgrade
Meanwhile, team hosts Colorado Springs in USLC play Saturday night
Since New Mexico United’s auspicious entrance into USL Championship play earlier this spring, many supporters have taken it as a foregone conclusion that the club will have its own soccer-specific stadium in short order.
It seems apparent now that incremental change, rather than a home run effort, will dictate the pace of development on United infrastructure.
The Journal reported on Sunday that a $28 million sports infrastructure package proposed by Mayor Tim Keller is awaiting approval by the City Council. While the largest slice of funds would be used for renovations to Los Altos Park ($10.5 million), the
proposal also includes $3 million for a multi-use soccer complex that would replace United’s current practice facilities on Mesa del Sol.
New Mexico (9-8-10) hosts the Colorado Springs Switchbacks (6-17-5) Saturday at Isotopes Park. United snapped a five-game winless streak Sunday in beating Oklahoma City 3-1. The Switchbacks have won just once in 13 road matches.
A spokesperson for the mayor’s office confirmed that the city and United’s front office have begun a dialogue about what the club’s long-term needs are for a practice ground — particularly in regard to field specifications.
The club’s current facilities — surrounded by swaths of undeveloped land on the incomplete mixed-use, master planned Mesa del Sol community — provide some logistical challenges that the proposed practice grounds would presumably solve. Currently, the squad trains at the Dr. E. A. Swede Scholer Regional Recreation Complex adjacent to the Isleta Amphitheater, which is about a mile and a half from its locker room facility south of the Sunport.
A site for the proposed multi-use soccer complex hasn’t been located, but Keller has suggested the West Side as a potential landing spot. Jessie Damazyn, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, said that multiple locations are being considered.
Keller’s office and the City Council will ultimately be responsible for finalizing the site, according to Damazyn.
In addition to serving as a new training ground for United, the complex would host New Mexico middle and high school sports championships. The city of Albuquerque is also looking to land soccer tournaments outside the scope of the New Mexico Activities Association, the governing body of the state’s secondary school athletics. Damazyn said those conversations are ongoing.
Keller’s proposal would not increase local taxes, instead drawing from a refinancing of existing Lodger’s Tax bonds.
Also included in the mayor’s project is funding to “upgrade” Isotopes Park, according a press release from the city. A total of $1 million is earmarked for more protective netting to shield baseball fans and “field improvements to provide for an easier transition from baseball to other uses.”
Damazyn outlined the specifics of the proposed upgrades to the baseball stadium in an email to the Journal.
“For the Isotopes Park improvements, we would consider a mechanical pitching mound, improved safety netting along baselines, restructuring the irrigation system and building shade amenities for ticketing queue lines,” Damazyn said.
The reliability of the temporary sod laid for United’s home matches at Isotopes Park has been erratic at times. The playing surface covering the baseball infield — most notably in New Mexico’s previous two home tilts — has sometimes resulted in haphazard ball movement and players taking to fixing divots in the turf during play.
While Isotopes groundskeepers are responsible for the removal of the pitching mound and upkeep of the infield and outfield grass, private company Mountain West Golfscapes lays down and removes the infield sod before and after every United match. A mechanical pitching mound would presumably help facilitate the transition to and from a baseball field to a soccer pitch.
The projects are still at an early, speculative stage, and a timetable for the proposed bond refinancing has not been set.