City leaders consider building stadium at Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta Park

Griffin Rushton | KOB

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque city leaders provided an update Thursday on a potential multi-use sports complex at Balloon Fiesta Park.

Officials confirmed they are looking at potentially building a new stadium at the park. However, they were clear that nothing is moving forward just yet.

The idea is still in the preliminary stages, but officials said a 7-8 acre stadium complex could be constructed in the eastern parking lot next to a major power line that already blocks balloon traffic.

The city’s chief administrative officer said they are optimistic about the location because it meets several zoning, infrastructure and transportation criteria – but he admits water, sewer and other utility upgrades would be needed.

In 2021, voters overwhelmingly shot down the idea of taxpayers backing a New Mexico United stadium near downtown. Officials said Thursday they are not planning to sell or gift any land currently owned by the city. They would lease it instead.

According to city leaders, it’s too early to speculate how big the stadium would be or how much it would cost. They did confirm the project would rely on private funding though – no city tax dollars would be used.

New Mexico United provided the following statement following the news conference:

“Seeing the City of Albuquerque’s and the State of New Mexico’s commitment to improving Balloon Fiesta’s Park is inspiring,” said United Owner/CEO Peter Trevisani. “Balloon Fiesta Park is one of the gems of our state, bringing in visitors from around the world to see New Mexico’s beauty. We’re excited to see it continue to grow and improve for year-round use by New Mexicans. We’re enthusiastic about what is coming next for New Mexico, and we look forward to being part of that growth. While this is an exciting first step, there is still a tremendous amount of work to do.”

This is a developing story. Stay with KOB 4 Eyewitness News and KOB.com for updates.