Arena Renderings (Albuquerque, Rio Rancho: buy, university, land)

[urbanabq]

I believe it has happened once, at Oklahoma State U. They literally built the new structure over the old one. Gallagher-Iba Arena - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Does anyone know the capacity that the NCAA requires for their tournaments?

Also, i wish they would show the public how much they intend to spend on the arena. They are telling us that building the upper level bowls will drive up the cost but I think the other cities are spending under $150 Million on their 16,000+ seat arenas. Where the hell is the other $150 million going? I don't think that the hotel tower cost much more than $100 million.

Lastly, I think I could be sold on 12,500 as long as they have a way of expanding to 15k. The market study provides a very detailed reason to build at that (12k) size.

[loborick]

Anyone talking about the Lobos playing there needs to take that off the table. They are starting a $60M renovation after this season. They aren't going anywhere for a long time.

It is more expensive to expand later than to build it right the first time. In order to bring in the shows and concerts an area the size of ABQ/SF, you need to build 16K. If not, it's not worth the bother. What a small town attitude ABQ has. They will never be a player with other cities as long as they keep this attitude, and that includes the city council and residents.

[rybert]

I never want to see the Lobos leave the Pit!

[Rob Martinez]

Sounds like some of you need to organize an effort to make sure the new arena doesn't get built. But I guarantee you they aren't going to build it bigger.

[desert sun]

Originally Posted by loborick

Anyone talking about the Lobos playing there needs to take that off the table. They are starting a $60M renovation after this season. They aren't going anywhere for a long time.

It is more expensive to expand later than to build it right the first time. In order to bring in the shows and concerts an area the size of ABQ/SF, you need to build 16K. If not, it's not worth the bother. What a small town attitude ABQ has. They will never be a player with other cities as long as they keep this attitude, and that includes the city council and residents.

I agree, maybe this whole thing is in favor of the Mayor and his homies, maybe someone is going to get kickbacks on it. That is an expensive small arena.

[Rob Martinez]

A 12,500 seat arena is NOT small. It is SMALLER than an 18,000 seater, but is still a big event center.

Again, WHAT major events will Albuquerque host on a regluar basis that will require 20,000 seats?

You can't build a $200 million arena seating 18,000 so that one or two major acts MIGHT perform here once.

[abqsunport]

Rob, you can put 12,000 people in a 20,000 seat arena. You can't put 18,000 in a 12,500 seat arena. Besides, they are calling it "an event center" which means they plan having conventions there as well...Rob, I think you are right that this thing isn't getting bigger, but I don't agree that it is the smartest allocation of money.

[urbanabq]

abqsunport: I think it depends on what the intended goal might be for the facility. Will it attract concerts that say hell no to Rio Rancho, Tingley and the Pit? Yes. Will it be a catalyst for further redevelopment downtown? Yes. Will it increase conventions? Yes. In addition, the 12,000 seats is a conservative number in that our population will be highly likely to pay off the debt, unlike the Star Center, and more likely than a facility with 16,000+ seats costing significantly more to build and operate.

[Rob Martinez]

Originally Posted by abqsunport

Rob, you can put 12,000 people in a 20,000 seat arena. You can't put 18,000 in a 12,500 seat arena. Besides, they are calling it "an event center" which means they plan having conventions there as well...Rob, I think you are right that this thing isn't getting bigger, but I don't agree that it is the smartest allocation of money.

I suppose if it goes up for a vote, it can be voted down. If that happens, can you really see thousands of people getting up in arms to demand it be bigger? If it get voted down, you can forget there being any arena.

And I guess it is, from your perspective, a waste of money. I disagree. That money won't go to "something else."

[bradly]

We should be able to vote for it, and other possible ideas should also be taken into consideration, most of the city belives we need a larger arena, thats all i'm saying, no need to quote this.