DALLAS — Albuquerque, N.M., is seeking developers willing to work with the city to revive the idea for a 10,000-seat arena near the downtown convention center.
Mayor Martin Chávez said the city would provide land for the arena and support the bonds needed to finance the facility, which is expected to cost at least $125 million.
“The city will issue a request for proposals this week for a multi-purpose events center capable of hosting professional sporting events and concerts, and a Broadway-quality stage,” Chávez said. “If everything goes right, I’ll have a good plan to take to my city council by the end of the year.”
Chávez said the facility could be built on some city-owned land adjacent to the convention center, or elsewhere in downtown if the proposal is right.
He said he doesn’t want the city to pay for the arena, but the project will be more viable if the city guarantees repayment of the debt. State help will also be sought, Chávez said.
“Our contribution to this project will be the land, and to guarantee the payment on the bonds,” he said.
The RFP being prepared is deliberately vague, Chávez said.
“We’d love to have it next to the convention center, to take advantage of the symbiotic relationship between the arena and the center,” he said. “It could also be part of an events center-hotel complex, with retail in and around it.
“What we’re trying to do is give the development community the freedom to be creative as possible,” Chávez added.
The model for the downtown arena will be the minor-league baseball stadium the city built a few years ago, Chávez said.
The city built Sports Stadium with $10 million in taxable general obligation bonds, authorized by voters in May 2001 and sold in November 2001, and $15 million in two loans from the New Mexico Finance Authority. The baseball stadium has been the home of the Class AAA Albuquerque Isotopes since 2003.
“Sports Stadium has been a huge success,” Chavez said. “We’re paying the annual debt service with a payment from the team of 10% of the gross revenues from the stadium. I think the final financial arrangements might be similar with this facility.”
Albuquerque has been attempting to locate an arena in downtown for several years. A Phoenix-based firm that was trying to find private financing for a similar project in 2005 withdrew after it said significant public financing would be required.
“We stumbled out of the gate last year because we could not guarantee payment on bonds,” Chávez said. “That’s not unusual. A lot of cities fail the first time they try to put together such a large, complicated project. This time, it will be different.”
Bonds for the arena would not require authorization from voters, according to the mayor.
“I don’t see a need for an election on this,” he said. “The council is virtually unanimous in its support for this idea.”
Proposals will be due by the end of October, Chávez said. The city staff will evaluate the proposals, he said, with a recommendation going to the council sometime in December.
Chávez said the facility could provide a venue for minor league hockey, Arena Football, and Women’s National Basketball Association teams.
