The campaign both in favor of and against a proposed multi-use soccer stadium in Albuquerque is heating up and engaging voters across the city just days before the November election.
In August members of the Albuquerque City Council voted in favor of putting on the ballot a $50 million bond proposal that, if finally approved by the voters of Albuquerque, would be used to pay for the structure’s construction.
The stadium would belong to the New Mexico United soccer team, which is based in Albuquerque and was formed some 3 years ago.
The project has been in the talking stage for several years, but has slowly progressed, with the New Mexico State Legislature last year approving more than $4 million to be mostly used for land acquisition for the project.
But as the fall campaign has unfolded, various groups have announced their opposition to the project, criticizing a study suggesting that the structure could be built adjacent to several working-class neighborhoods.
One group called Stop the Stadium has characterized the project as gentrification organized by “local elites overseeing pro-corporate development projects.”
Meanwhile, an ethics complaint has been filed against the Stop the Stadium group, charging that it is operating as a political action committee but hasn’t registered as one.
A group in support of the bond called NM United for All, according to public records, has spent upwards of $330,000 in October on advertising and signs.
One poll taken earlier in October showed only 23% of respondents in favor of the proposal. A more recent poll put that figure at 37%. Those opposing the stadium have marginally decreased from 59% to 55%.
By Garry Boulard