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ATC to play its 2A opening-round game against Clayton at Pojoaque because of capacity issues
Bobby Romero always buys a handful of tickets prior to every Academy for Technology and the Classics boys basketball game — just in case. The head coach of the Phoenix said he does it because a few people always forget to buy their own tickets for games, and he hands them out to ensure they can see his team. With seating at a premium in Susan Lumley Gymnasium — it can only hold about 250 people for games because of a design flaw that prevents the use of all the rows of stands — tickets are equally as valuable.
That won’t be a problem Saturday night when Class 2A’s top seed takes on No. 16 Clayton in the opening round of the state basketball tournament. ATC worked out an agreement with Pojoaque Valley to play in Ben Luján Gymnasium at 6 p.m., with the winner advancing to the 2A quarterfinals in the Rio Rancho Event Center the following week.
The arrangement means instead of people fighting over 250 seats at ATC, they will have at least a couple thousand seats to choose from at Pojoaque.
Still, Romero bought a couple of tickets in case someone needs one in a pinch.
“I don’t think we’ll sell Pojoaque out,” Romero said. “It’s a huge venue, but you never know, and for an extra $30-$40, I’d rather somebody have a chance to see their kid if they weren’t able to get a ticket or they didn’t think it was going to sell out and it turns out it does.”
Under ideal circumstances, ATC would host its own state tournament game. However, when the school built its gym, the stands were built too close to the court. That means the top six rows cannot be retracted to allow for a full capacity of 500 people. It wasn’t an issue until the boys team became one of the best in the state during the 2022-23 season.
Not even the addition of about 30 chairs placed on one side of the gym could alleviate capacity issues.
Last year, the Phoenix played their open
ing-round game against Tatum at Santa Fe High because the Demons were on the road for their 5A opener against Albuquerque West Mesa. This year, Santa Fe High will entertain the Mustangs at home at 7 p.m. Saturday, and the school has a Junior ROTC event during the day that prevented ATC from using the gym.
Complicating matters was that almost every other available gym in the city — St. Michael’s, Santa Fe Indian School and Santa Fe Prep — will already be hosting a state tournament game. The one gym the Phoenix could have used, Capital’s Edward A. Ortiz Memorial Gymnasium, was one they did not want to play at, Romero said.
So, Pojoaque Valley became the ideal option, and not just because the Elks didn’t make the Class 4A State Tournament.
“It’s very similar to [the Rio Rancho Event Center] and The Pit,” Romero said. “The line of sight at the gym is similar to those places because they have the basket stanchions and there is no crowd behind the basket. And the court is very similar [in terms of length and width] to what we’ll see at Rio Rancho.”
Pojoaque athletic director Mark Mutz said the gym is popular because of its size — it can hold up to 3,500 people — and the atmosphere. For 20 years, it was the home to the Northern Rio Grande Tournament and it has held several regional basketball tournaments during the 1990s and early 2000s.
“Every time people walk into our gym, they’re in awe of its ambiance,” Mutz said. “It’s a really nice gym that can hold plenty of people.”
Last year, around 1,000 people showed up for the Phoenix’s first-ever state tournament game at Santa Fe High. The crowds continued to grow as they made their way to the Class 2A championship game, a 52-49 loss to Pecos.
This season, Romero said most games were sellouts because families and a handful of students swooped up tickets before they were gone. But he encounters many people who want to see the Phoenix because of their recent success.
He said the intrigue might be a result of the style ATC plays, which is different than most small schools.
“I think we play more like a 4A or a 5A style of basketball,” Romero said. “I do think we have a little bit more of a fan base than what we did last year.”
And if there are too many people running to join the Phoenix bandwagon Saturday, Romero might have a ticket or two to find them a seat.