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Voters Bring Baseball Back To 'Burque
Albuquerque approves bond measure, remodeled stadium. Everyone is claiming victory, yet opponents who claim a win in the remodel may see backlash on their positions.

By Vince Kadlubek

Albuquerque - 05/31/01 - Duke city voters brought baseball back into town on Wednesday with a 5-to-4 margin in favor of issuing general obligation bonds to finance a stadium project to bring a new AAA club from the Pacific Coast League (PCL) to town.

The voters who were given the choice of a new or remodeled stadium as a second question, chose to renovate the existing Sports Stadium instead of building a new stadium by an astounding, albeit expected, 2-to-1 margin. The heavy vote for remodeling largely came from voters who voted against the bond measure to fund the stadium. There was nothing precluding them from voting on the second question if they rejected the bond measure. So the naysayers ruled the day by manipulating the vote. Yet the last laugh seems to be on them.

The renovation of the Sports Stadium in Albuquerque will cost at least $25 million and take approximately 22 months to finish once the construction begins this fall. While local television stations, and many local citizens against the stadium have been portraying this as a cost-saving "face-lift" of the existing stadium, the new ownership makes clear that the land is probably about the only valuable asset left in the current sports stadium complex.

"This is almost a total gut and rebuild," said new team owner Ken Young. Young, who owns other successful minor league franchises including the Norfolk Tides, points out that the whole design of the stadium as it stands now is not geared towards the needs of a modern baseball park.

"Right now, the food is in the wrong place, the lockers are in the wrong place. There is no room for indoor batting cages. You don't have the right flow to make it 'fan friendly' yet," Young continued.

“What we have to do is move very quickly if we want the team to play again by April 2003,” Mayor Jim Baca said Thursday. “We have to get City Council to act very quickly. Lets get the politics out of the way.”

The Calgary Cannons will be purchased for a move to Albuquerque. Will the Cannons, under a new name, play in New Mexico next year or remain in Canada in 2002? "We still have that under review," co-owner Ken Young told MLN. "We have to sit down with the architects and with the City before we can make that determination."

Wednesday’s special election did not come to pass without some heated discussions between groups that hoped for a new stadium, groups that wished the old stadium would be renovated, and a group who tried luring both City Council and Albuquerque voters to object to the bond issue altogether.

Three Strikes, a citizens' action group against using taxpayer financing, even in part, to bring a sports team to the city of Albuquerque, thought the money could be better spent on supporting education in the Duke city, among other things. After the election, Gwen Poe, spokesperson for the group, was unhappy about the bond passing yet somewhat relieved that the voters decided on a $10 million renovation instead of the $15 million construction of a new park.

"People support baseball. That's probably the reason (for the outcome)," she said. "Maybe they're not opposed to corporate welfare. Baseball is a business and it should be supported by investors, but instead we are going to become corporate welfare subsidizers."

POE has refused to acknowledge the argument that the partial financing of a stadium would bring back part of the estimated $5 million in annual revenue which the stadium generates for the City of Albuquerque. A new stadium, which would have energized a neighborhood with new restaurants, stores, and entertainment complexes, could have netted the city millions more in tax revenues generated.

"It's a shame that these people don't get that they shot their cause in the foot," said a retired school teacher who wished to remain anonymous. She voted for a new stadium.

"A new stadium would have brought more tax revenue to the general fund. And who knows what kind of multi-million dollar business, or an Intel, with all of that tax revenue, we could have attracted with an energized area around a new stadium."

Despite the mild setback to his plans, Baca still declared Wednesday’s vote a victory for the city.

“We got AAA baseball back in record time,” Baca said. “A year ago we didn’t know if we’d even be able to get a team. … We did it. It’s almost miraculous.”

Greg Payne, a member of the City Council and freshly announced candidate for Mayor of Albuquerque, was the biggest winner of the night. Payne was among the leaders of a group in favor of the renovation of the Sports Stadium, and was instrumental in manipulating the ballot to allow voters who voted down the bond measure to still be able to vote for a remodel of the stadium. He may come to regret his tactics, however, when the remodel may actually run more than the new stadium cost.

Payne's campaign claims of savings were based on a loose estimate of what a remodel will cost. When the architectural firm hired to rebuild the Sports Stadium finishes a hard estimate, some expect the number to climb above the $25 Million price tag that was bandied about prior to the election.

"The folks in Portland remodeled their stadium," noted one Backin' Baseball member last night. "It cost them $33 Million with a few cost overruns."

If the stadium remodel does run up a higher than expected construction budget, the two-tiered deal for stadium rent will be a bargain for the new owners of the AAA baseball team. A new stadium would have fetched $1.2 Million in rent. A remodeled stadium will only garner $750,000 per year.

Payne and Baca will most likely go head-to-head in the mayoral race in 2002. Today they had a war of words regarding the stadium issue leading up to the election.

“There’s a lot of sentimental attachment to the Sports Stadium” Payne stated. “We are glad they decided the Sports Stadium was the way to go.”

"The only major difference between the new stadium and the renovation is the deduction of the land cost and the removal of the site search from the process," Young told MLN. "That could have taken some time to move through the political process."

The city council may get specifics on financing the project as early as Monday. After the financing details get worked out, City Hall, working with the team's ownership, must then name an architect for the job. Mayor Baca hopes this process can be completed in time for a November or December start date for the actual construction.

“The public stated they want baseball. We have to get this thing built in 16 months starting late this fall to see the Cannons franchise here for the 2003 season.” Baca said.

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