Arena Renderings (Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Des Moines: 2010, tenants, theater)

[desert sun]

this arena will be smaller than Las Cruces' Pan American Center

[bradly]

Originally Posted by desert sun

this arena will be smaller than Las Cruces' Pan American Center

That blows.. haha, oh well i guess what can we do.

[Rob Martinez]

Originally Posted by desert sun

this arena will be smaller than Las Cruces' Pan American Center

Yeah, but comparable, and a LOT nicer! 13,000 vs. 12,500.

It will also be smaller than the Pit for basketball, but bigger for concerts.

I will believe it when I see it.

[bradly]

Originally Posted by Rob Martinez

Yeah, but comparable, and a LOT nicer! 13,000 vs. 12,500.

It will also be smaller than the Pit for basketball, but bigger for concerts.

I will believe it when I see it.

I'd rather not have an arena in Albuquerque, unless its bigger that the pit.

[abqsunport]

Well it is going to be really hard to beat the pit. The Pit holds over 18,000 people.

[rybert]

So... if the new arena will be smaller than the Pit... what's the point?

[ABQRick]

This freakin' city never thinks about the future. Why did we spend millions recently to "upgrade" Tingley, only to build another comparable building? The least they could do is build an arena that can be expanded later, when necessary.

[Rob Martinez]

Originally Posted by rybert

So... if the new arena will be smaller than the Pit... what's the point?

I understand your pain, but let me play devil's advocate here.

First, it is not realistic to say, "A new arena in Albuquerque should be bigger than the Pit." meaning hold more than 18,000. The ONLY reason the Pit holds 18,000 is because of a demand IN THE PAST for Lobo basketball tickets. It doesn't hold that much for concerts or anything else. In fact, for an end stage show, it holds about 9,000, MAYBE 11,000 if folks don't mind an obstructed view from the side of the stage. Remember, the Pit cannot "fly" lights and PA like other arenas, because of its weak roof.

Second, right now we have nothing. Even Tingley counts as "nothing" at this point as most first tier acts (Madonna, U2, Celine Dion, etc) won't play there. Capacity is not the problem with Tingley, it is that it SUCKS as a concert and sports facitlity. If Tingley could hold 15,000, we'd STILL miss those major shows. It just plain SUCKS. Furthermore, Tingley does NOT hold 12,000. It MAY get about 10,000 for a concert, that's it.

You say, "Over 18,000 or nothing." Well, are you happy with nothing now? 'Cause that's what we have: NOTHING.

Third, what is your justification for an arena bigger than 18,000? Are the Lobos gonna play there? If that arrangement is made with UNM, then yes, UNM, the city, AND the state would all pony up to build a 20,000 seat multi-purpose event center. But unless you know something the rest of us don't, that is not going to happen.

And please don't say how Albuquerque can get an NBA team if we have a 20,000 seat arena, because it just isn't true. We do not have the population base or economy to support that, no matter how big of an arena we build.

Now, step back and think a minute. We have about 800,000 people in our metro area, and MAY hit one million in about eight years. Before we can even think about NBA, we need about 2 million people in the area, which will be thirty to fifty years down the line.

Wouldn't you rather have a 12,500 seat modern arena for concerts and sporting events for our city until then? Or "nothing" until what you want happens?

I submit that you are being short-sighted, in the guise of being far-sighted.

In thirty years, IF Albuquerque is a viable market for an NBA team, the powers that be will build a 20,000 seat arena for that situation.

Until then, I would love to see a new, shiny 12,500 seat arena in downtown Albuquerque.

[desert sun]

I have noticed recently that a couple of concerts and a comedy show is being held at the convention center downtown, I wonder why all of a sudden they are putting concerts there.

[bradly]

Originally Posted by Rob Martinez

I understand your pain, but let me play devil's advocate here.

First, it is not realistic to say, "A new arena in Albuquerque should be bigger than the Pit." meaning hold more than 18,000. The ONLY reason the Pit holds 18,000 is because of a demand IN THE PAST for Lobo basketball tickets. It doesn't hold that much for concerts or anything else. In fact, for an end stage show, it holds about 9,000, MAYBE 11,000 if folks don't mind an obstructed view from the side of the stage. Remember, the Pit cannot "fly" lights and PA like other arenas, because of its weak roof.

Second, right now we have nothing. Even Tingley counts as "nothing" at this point as most first tier acts (Madonna, U2, Celine Dion, etc) won't play there. Capacity is not the problem with Tingley, it is that it SUCKS as a concert and sports facitlity. If Tingley could hold 15,000, we'd STILL miss those major shows. It just plain SUCKS. Furthermore, Tingley does NOT hold 12,000. It MAY get about 10,000 for a concert, that's it.

You say, "Over 18,000 or nothing." Well, are you happy with nothing now? 'Cause that's what we have: NOTHING.

Third, what is your justification for an arena bigger than 18,000? Are the Lobos gonna play there? If that arrangement is made with UNM, then yes, UNM, the city, AND the state would all pony up to build a 20,000 seat multi-purpose event center. But unless you know something the rest of us don't, that is not going to happen.

And please don't say how Albuquerque can get an NBA team if we have a 20,000 seat arena, because it just isn't true. We do not have the population base or economy to support that, no matter how big of an arena we build.

Now, step back and think a minute. We have about 800,000 people in our metro area, and MAY hit one million in about eight years. Before we can even think about NBA, we need about 2 million people in the area, which will be thirty to fifty years down the line.

Wouldn't you rather have a 12,500 seat modern arena for concerts and sporting events for our city until then? Or "nothing" until what you want happens?

I submit that you are being short-sighted, in the guise of being far-sighted.

In thirty years, IF Albuquerque is a viable market for an NBA team, the powers that be will build a 20,000 seat arena for that situation.

Until then, I would love to see a new, shiny 12,500 seat arena in downtown Albuquerque.

I see what your gettin at here, its a great post but MOST Albuquerqueans dont agree on this! i say i should be left up to the voters, so we can vote NO! we have the pit and a few other ghetto venues so screw it, i dont want my tax dollars going towards a 11,000 seat arena one bit! Were growing at a fast rate and people know it.. its embrassing for Albuquerque to have an arena that small, when some cities smaller than us are building bigger better!