The grounds hosting the annual and hugely popular Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta are expected to see a variety of facility upgrades in the months ahead.
The Balloon Fiesta was first held in 1972 and saw the launching of just over a dozen hot air balloons. Today that number is up to more than five hundred.
But as the popularity of the event at the Balloon Fiesta Park has grown with nearly 1 million visitors last year, so has the stress on the site itself.
Last month New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham gave her signature to a capital outlay earlier approved by state lawmakers of around $15.7 million for work at the Fiesta Park.
That work, according to a description of the legislation, may be used for upgrades to the site’s water, sewer, and electrical systems. Additional work will see restrooms improvements.
Some $150,000, meanwhile, will also target improvements to the park’s baseball fields and baseball cages. Plans are also in the works for road, parking lot, and walkway improvements.
City officials have also indicated that they would like to have more space for balloon landings.
The first Balloon Fiesta event, in April of 1972, was held in the parking lot of the Coronado Center Shopping Mall. After several other location changes, it was permanently moved in 1986 to a site of vast acreage at 4401 Alameda Boulevard NE.
By Garry Boulard
