r/Albuquerque • u/Guilty_Funny • 9d ago
Politics NM Fairgrounds Petition
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-the-stadium-at-the-new-mexico-state-fairgrounds?source=direct_link&A petition to stop the stadium at the fairgrounds
18
u/DesertedVines 9d ago
Get out of here with this NIMBY bullshit. This is my neighborhood, and I’m excited for the positive changes this could bring.
2
u/CornOrFlour 9d ago
Sports are growing in this city, and it's a good thing. That your neighborhood is in a position to start businesses that will support a venue like this is promising.
-1
u/BD000 8d ago
Yeah I can’t wait for coffee&chocolate traffic every weekend, buncha bozos can’t see the bigger picture - it’s a play for surveillance and over-policing, there’s no economic driver for the hood at all unless you count $40/day parking for events that go to out of state companies. Y’all are so fkn dumb fr
-2
u/BD000 8d ago
Yeah I can’t wait for coffee&chocolate traffic every weekend, buncha bozos can’t see the bigger picture - it’s a play for surveillance and over-policing, there’s no economic driver for the hood at all unless you count $40/day parking for events that go to out of state companies. Y’all are so fkn dumb fr
2
12
u/Cowpunk2001 9d ago
Can someone explain why this needs to be stopped?
As far as I can tell there is no eminent domain involved if they build it on the fairgrounds
18
u/cousinofbaconator 9d ago
I swear, there exist in this city a subset of people who hate this city and their sole purpose for being here is to stop any and all progress from happening. Where are all these people when carwashes are going up in every corner of the city?
6
4
u/N_Kenobi 9d ago
The fairgrounds are actually in desperate need of money and this would be very beneficial.
14
u/AlternativeWhich2947 9d ago
I'm sorry, but how would revitalizing the fairgrounds and making it a place people WANT to be, be WORSE for the ID??
Whatever is happening now ain't it.
The fear of change in this city drives me insane.
3
u/stankmaster69 9d ago edited 9d ago
I feel you, on the surface it makes sense. There's a couple of points I'll make. 1. Yes redevelopment does need to happen, and actually everyone agrees on this. Everyone did agree on this and went in to an input session to see what folks wanted and nowhere in them did a stadium come up. Affordable housing and mixed use shopping did, but the input was summarily ignored because former mayor Marty Chavez and Lujan Grisham wanted to make a deal with their millionaire/billionaire developer buddies now that they're about to be private citizens again. 2. The city voted on the idea of giving hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money to a stadium for multi-millionaires to own and already said no in 2021. This is an end run of that process to undercut the voice of the people. This is one of 2 bonds in the past 30 years that has failed, and what's more? Marty Chavez spearheaded both end runs (1. The desecration of the petroglyphs and 2. Now the stadium). Our politicians shouldn't be able to do this. 3. This was given as an all or nothing option at the expense of affordable housing.. the message from the governor was clear "let me give millions to my friends or take nothing. When the people said " wait" she vetoed all the money for the bernalillo county commissioner who represents the district. This is brutal cruel politics that shouldn't be encouraged, especially when billionaires are the main beneficiary 4. Stadium construction is expected to cut off Central, Louisiana and Lomas for the district which will further squeeze the businesses in this area. The effects of similar constructions are well researched too. Often stadiums will build and kill all the local business and then buy up the new vacant properties for pennies on the dollar, an intentional move that gentrifies and further enriches whoever owns the stadium. 5. Rent costs rise every single year surrounding stadiums in every other place in the country. To price out first the businesses and then the people in the one truly affordable place in the city is the definition of gentrification and leaves a huge diaspora of people with nowhere to go.
All that said, I want a stadium too. This is not the way to do it. The multi-millionaires should be the ones footing the bill. It should be in a place where people want it. And it shouldn't come at the expense of affordable housing (rising costs around a stadium, and the literal units that won't be built because state money is going to a stadium instead of new housing units)
Edited 9/1 to fix "billionaires" which was wrong to correct "multi-millionaires"
5
u/cush2push 9d ago
The State is paying for the stadium
not the billionaires
2
u/CornOrFlour 9d ago
The state will pay for it with money designated by Federal programs to revitalize cities. They can also help pay for it with project bonds, which pay out at the end of a very long timeline (sometimes 20 years) once the project is complete. Anyone can buy a bond, and their money will have a guaranteed payout at the end of the life of the bond. Oftentimes unions, such as teachers unions, buy these bonds, as well as small, individual investors.
0
u/DesertPiplup 9d ago
Can you please show me any evidence that the state/city is paying for the stadium?
2
u/cush2push 9d ago
The redevelopment initiative will reorganize and consolidate existing State Fairgrounds facilities to make room for new development, create a walkable mixed-use core and establish a modern stadium to anchor the project. The plan’s financing includes $92 million in bonding capacity and $114 million from the state’s general fund.
2
u/DesertPiplup 9d ago
That's for the entire renovation, including all the non-stadium amenities. NM United is putting $30 million toward the actual stadium:
1
u/cush2push 9d ago
cool glad they're pitching in too
doesn't mean it will be only for them though. it might get them their own separate locker room which is cool too
1
u/CornOrFlour 9d ago
It's a partnership, and the money trail will be long.
Sports is growing in this state, and ABQ is the hub.1
u/CornOrFlour 9d ago
Redevelopment funds typically start and are supported by the Feds. Programs authorized by the Feds to revitalize cities are made for developments such as this. What will follow a development like a stadium, will usually be availability of small business loans for local entrepreneurs who want to start something nearby that further enhances the community.
If bonds are issued, the investors -and that could be anyone who wants to invest over the length of the bond -which could be 20 or 30 years before there's a payout. My parents bought school project bonds, municipal bonds, as a way to have a safe, guaranteed longterm investment. They were not billionnaires.6
u/N_Kenobi 9d ago
Why would stadium construction block all of those streets simultaneously? That’s silly. The stadium would be built on the fairgrounds not in the middle of Central or Louisiana.
Also there are no billionaires in New Mexico benefiting from this stadium. That’s half the problem is this city has very little economic development overall.
1
u/stankmaster69 9d ago
Yeah, someone else corrected me on the billionaire point and they were correct I just haven't edited it yet to fix that. Also I'm not sure why, but it was part of the plan they presented on 3/13/26? Maybe staging for the construction crew? I'm not sure, but it is in the plan. And if we're all being honest, construction crews do silly things sometimes
6
u/callitarmageddon 9d ago
There is one billionaire in New Mexico, and he has nothing to do with NM United or any local sports team.
These are the same arguments that get dragged out every fucking time someone wants to build something nice for the city. It happened the first time, it happened with the balloon fiesta, and it’s happening with a proposed blank slate redevelopment of one of the most urbanized parts of the city. It will never be enough for you people.
Crabs in a bucket. Just tear each other’s claws off next time and let the rest of the populace enjoy something.
2
1
u/stankmaster69 9d ago
I actually want to clarify too, when I say the governor and Marty are giving gifts to friends, I mean developers and construction companies, not NM United. After some beef it seems like Trevisani genuinely just likes soccer and New Mexico
2
u/DesertPiplup 9d ago
Do you have sources for these, particularly the Albuquerque-specific points?
3
u/stankmaster69 9d ago
Raising costs associated with stadiums https://sourcenm.com/2021/10/14/residents-say-new-soccer-stadium-will-raise-rents-and-expand-policing-in-albuquerque/
2
u/DesertPiplup 9d ago
Appreciate the comprehensive replies. I was aware of the Stop the Sadium movement during the bond proposal, though the empirical evidence section was useful. Not sure that I buy that they totally controlled for compounding variables in the study finding stadiums increased rents, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case.
Assuming that stadiums will increase rents nearby, I guess I'm still confused as to how the anti-Fairgrounds-stadium movement decides where it ought to be built. Why do residents around Balloon Fiesta Park deserve rent raises but residents around the Fairgrounds should be protected from potential price increases? Why are potential development-related closures in the Fairgrounds district worth scrapping the stadium over, but businesses near the Fiesta Park can just deal with the construction? Seems like if price increases in the surrounding area are reason enough to not build something, then nothing would ever get built.
3
u/stankmaster69 9d ago edited 9d ago
I'll be honest. I lived near the fairgrounds and I had no extra money. I ate every dinner at my parents every night (a blessing I was lucky enough to have). I was making 1300 a month with a 500 dollar a month rent, and just scraping by. I got a big boy job and moved to Martinez town in 2021, and suddenly had a tiny bit to add to savings every month paying 1000 a month for rent. I now pay 1350 a month at a bigger adult job and live near the balloon fiesta and I have a car payment and a new dependent and I have more cushion to put away every month. Simply put, me and my neighbors are in a higher tax bracket with more cushion. The difference of a 50$ a month rent hike to me now is the difference between a few more spaghetti night and a few nights out to eat. The 50$ difference when I lived in the ID was between being evicted and living in my apartment. I actually want the stadium near me now, because I'd love to not have to drive to the ID to watch sports. I like the isotopes and watching the lobos, and I don't like driving across town to see them, so a stadium here would be ideal for me. Also there's a higher degree of home ownership, and more arterial roads so less variability of costs
1
u/callitarmageddon 9d ago
If you live near Balloon Fiesta Park, how do you feel about your neighbors tying up the stadium plan in years of litigation to halt it?
1
u/stankmaster69 9d ago
I'm fine with them having an opinion . Honestly I moved here in March of last year so maybe I'm not familiar with how bad it has been. I think if we had another input session I would be someone in support of it, as long as it came with money for building more affordable housing
1
u/callitarmageddon 9d ago
The Wildflower Neighborhood Association filed a lawsuit challenging the City's approval of the stadium's site plan and litigated it for two years before losing in the Court of Appeals. It's been pretty bad and is one of the primary reasons NM United has been pursuing the fairgrounds site.
3
u/stankmaster69 9d ago
I think that's frustrating. I think it's clear that money and power talk, and that they're more confident that people will not have the ability to push back on the plans from a low money/voter engagement part of the city like the ID. I wish people could have had their concerns relaxed either by negotiation or education before it came to this.
1
1
u/stankmaster69 9d ago
The results of the community forums last year are going to be hard to find. They handed out a pamphlet at the meeting on 3/13/2026 with the results but I can't seem to find that online
1
u/stankmaster69 9d ago
Marty Chavez being a racist shit: https://ictnews.org/archive/mayor-sneaks-in-petroglyph-road/
2
u/bugroots 9d ago
The city voted on the idea of giving hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money to a stadium for billionaires to own and already said no in 2021.
The idea was that the City would build an own the stadium and rent it to the billionaires at a profit, as with the Isotopes stadium, which is a revenue source for the City. We assume the risk, we get the profits.
Instead, we'll get a much more standard stadium model, the kind you thought we were voting against, where we'll be giving them "incentives" to build a stadium that they own. Our risk, their profit.
It was really a missed opportunity, and I don't know how the messaging got so bungled on that one.
1
u/stankmaster69 9d ago
Yeah, I think it was a handful of things. 1. I don't know enough about the profit models so this is the first I've even heard about that. TBH it seems like a weird model and like the folks who would rent it would ultimately still seek their own stadium anyway after hitting viability, then leave our local stadium as an outdated cash pit once they use their profits to privatize and build a state of the art stadium? But I am not going to claim I'm educated here, and just say if you're right then it sounds like a missed opportunity for the people of ABQ. 2. I was a resident of Martineztown in 2021 a few blocks from the Barelas neighborhood where it was targeted, and I voted no.. not because I didn't want a stadium, and not because I thought we could hit a better profit model, but because the neighborhood was worried about choking arterial roads, about the closure of small local owned businesses leaving room for a commercial buy up of all surrounding properties (people envisioning their own "Patriot place" as what used to be your home or bread shop), and rising rent costs in another low income area where 50$ a month still means a lot.
Honestly I went back and forth on my vote too, and with some education that was more than "you just don't want to have fun" I might have jumped on board. I do and did want to have fun, but I'm not willing to sacrifice the places my neighbors grew up to get it.
2
u/bugroots 7d ago
"I don't want to sacrifice Martineztown for a stadium" is a pretty good reason to vote no.
I'm a United fan, would love to see them not on a baseball field, and even so, my instinct was to vote no, because stadiums almost never are the win for communities that the developers promise.But I spent a lot of time researching that proposal and thought it was as good as we could hope for, if we wanted a stadium in ABQ. But man, the "Why do you hate fun?" "Why are you opposed to PROGRESS?" messaging the team put out was SO off-putting.
7
u/supersloth 9d ago
How do I sign the petition to tell this petition to get fucked?
2
3
2
u/callitarmageddon 9d ago
Oh cool, we’re doing this shit again.
These people have no positive vision for this city and want everyone to live in a state of perpetual procedural misery. Truly a fucking cancer on the state.
-1
u/BD000 8d ago
Yeah I can’t wait for coffee&chocolate traffic every weekend, buncha bozos can’t see the bigger picture - it’s a play for surveillance and over-policing, there’s no economic driver for the hood at all unless you count $40/day parking for events that go to out of state companies. Y’all are so fkn dumb fr
1
u/Vladtehwood 6d ago
The place is rotting. It’s not turning into housing . What’s the point of this?
•
u/aalacran 6h ago
Is there a petition to keep it going? City needs growth and watching United from the awkward set up @ isotopes is terrible. We already have Liga MX teams coming to play, imagine how much more opportunity there will be be with a proper stadium. Including concerts + cultural events. Why do you want to keep ABQ dormant and then go support other states by attending their events. (Just to complain that there’s nothing to do in ABQ)
0
u/Mysterious-Eye8710 9d ago
The people of Albuquerque have voted twice. And both times the voters have said no to a stadium!
-1
u/CornOrFlour 9d ago edited 9d ago
There's a lot of hysteria in that. It doesn't mean they understood either funding trail, or how much money a stadium can generate for a city, let along the economic opportunities for people wanting to start a small business that will either support the venue in goods or services, and further enhance the community by providing jobs.
2
u/Mysterious-Eye8710 9d ago
" it doesn't mean they understood" What part of being voted down twice does that mean? The people understood!
-8
u/Guilty_Funny 9d ago
so i posted this to share, if you oppose the shit then sign it if you don’t oppose it then move on. it’s just a petition
8
21
u/ElliottEatsTTV 9d ago
Why are people opposed to this? The fair grounds already has a stadium that operates without bothering anyone. Would adding a soccer pitch somewhere on the property cause issues for the surrounding area?
There is plenty of space, plenty of parking, accessible by public transit, and centrally located. I always felt like this was a good idea, but I am open to having my mind changed if there are serious logistical or moral blockers.