additional funding for next phase of albuquerque recreation complex secured

Members of the Bernalillo County Commission have voted in favor of committing $1 million to help launch the second phase construction of the Mesa del Sol Regional Outdoor Sports Complex on the south side of Albuquerque.

Work on the first phase of the big project, which will ultimately see the construction of 32 athletic fields, is already underway.

Besides building ten new fields, the phase two work will also see the construction of parking space, roadways, landscaping, and common areas.

Another fourteen fields are slated to be built during the project’s phase three. Those fields will be especially designed for cricket, football, rugby and cross country teams.

The Bernalillo commission vote comes after that same body had approved an earlier $1 million for the first phase construction. That funding came from a combination of money from the county’s general fund, general obligation bonds, and state capital outlay from 2016 and 2018.

In lauding the most recent commission vote, member Maggie Hart Stebbins predicted that the completion of the project will see a complex providing “young athletes from around the country better access to competitive soccer and football facilities.”

Stebbins added that the complex will also give “the country, the city, and the state a state-of-the-art facility to attract large scale regional and national tournaments.”

Bernalillo County officials have also recently disclosed that they will be asking the New Mexico State Legislature next month for $5 million in additional capital outlay funding for the complex.

By Garry Boulard

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