Sep. 29—A lease agreement between New Mexico United and the city of Albuquerque is heading to the City Council for a vote that could ultimately decide the fate of the soccer team's planned stadium.
Should the City Council approve the 30-year lease agreement, the privately owned soccer team will pay the city $35,000 the first year, with a 2% rent increase each year, to lease seven acres of the city-owned Balloon Fiesta Park. The lease is scheduled to to be introduced to the council Monday and heard on Oct. 16.
"Now it's real," Keller said at a news conference. "And, now, it's also mostly out of my hands."
The team, which currently subleases city-owned Isotopes Park from its primary tenant, the Triple-A baseball Albuquerque Isotopes, will need to initially invest at least $30 million of private funds designing and building the stadium per the lease agreement. Using state, federal and existing funds, Keller said at the news conference, the city will finance the update of utilities and other foundational work for the stadium, as well as improvements for the park as a whole.
"It also means bathrooms," Keller said. "We might actually have permanent bathrooms at Balloon Fiesta Park."
A spokesperson for New Mexico United said details about the design, size or cost are yet to be determined. The city is not involved in the stadium design.
If approved, the stadium is set to occupy what is now a parking area east of the launch field. But, Keller said, the city has ensured that no parking spots will be lost — they just might be moved.
This year, the city has added a 250-spot parking area, and plans to add more parking facilities in the future, Keller said, a move that he said addressed concerns from Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta management.
In a statement, Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta said the Board of Directors met with the city and New Mexico United last month to learn about the impacts of a stadium.
"Three key areas of concern were raised during that meeting: parking, access to Balloon Fiesta Park and infrastructure improvements," it read. "We continue to receive these assurances and look forward to continuing the conversation to achieve these goals."
Balloon Fiesta currently leases the park from the Tuesday after Labor Day to the end of October. This year's Fiesta runs Oct. 7-15.
Per the New Mexico United lease agreement, the city is also obligated to build certain features that remain open to the public during Balloon Fiesta, including shade areas and the aforementioned public restrooms.