Over the past two years, I’ve written three articles discussing the obsession that some native leaders in New Mexico have with constructing a soccer stadium. In 2022, officers requested voters to fund a brand new stadium for the New Mexico United, the native soccer group, which might have value taxpayers upwards of $50M and counting. As one native information station summarized it: “Voters overwhelmingly said no”. Voters noticed by way of the fake promise of job creation and financial glory.
After a number of months handed, the thought of constructing a brand new soccer stadium but once more got here up, due to the mayor exhibiting up on a chunk of property and telling the world that this could be “the future home of a New Mexico United soccer stadium”. Oh, and the town demanded $50 million from taxpayers for this new stadium, though the general public obtained no justification for that determine. After quite a few different native leaders famous how ridiculously rushed the method was changing into, this concept died down for some time.
Guess what’s coming again? A brand new soccer stadium! However excellent news for everybody as the town has pressured that “no tax dollars will be used to build the stadium itself” and that the group can be paying for it “all”. Besides, just some small issues.
“The (metropolis) council is about to take a look at the tax incentives that might be supplied to New Mexico United for constructing their stadium at Balloon Fiesta Park…On Monday, the town council is about to go over the IRB, or industrial income bond, being supplied to NM United, to assist fund the stadium” — KRQE, 02/02/2025
Nevertheless, by claiming that no tax {dollars} can be utilized and that the group can be liable for your complete stadium development, the town purposefully deceived the general public. New Mexico United is completely getting taxpayer help to construct this new stadium. The group can be eligible for tax incentives that enable it to not pay any property taxes for the subsequent 20–30 years. For anybody who doesn’t know, IRB’s are tax incentives that enable a enterprise to restrict how a lot property tax that they are going to pay over the next 20–30 years.
Most common taxpayers don’t care if their sports activities group are exempt from property taxes. However there’s a cause so many sports activities groups require property tax exemption for a brand new sports activities venue. It saves them a LOT of cash. One estimate reveals (Per FieldOfSchemes.com) that 79% of the 126 stadiums and arenas for the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS are totally exempt from property taxes. That signifies that cities have misplaced round $650 million dollars in property taxes. Issue within the constructing’s life for all groups, and we now have $18 billion dollars of misplaced income.
“There’s no purposeful distinction between a authorities slicing a sports activities group proprietor a $100 million verify and one granting them $100 million in tax breaks” — Geoffrey Propheter, “Major League Sports and the Property Tax” (2022)
When KOAT, an area information station, bought their fingers on a lease settlement between the group and the town, they discovered if a stadium was constructed, there can be “a lot of taxes the New Mexico United soccer club will not have to pay”. One other subsidy would come from the group being allowed to deduct “equipment purchased in the construction” from their gross receipts tax invoice. Let’s not neglect the millions spent by taxpayers on the present dwelling of New Mexico United. What else? We don’t know, and the group received’t present us. Naturally, they are going to have “details to share” with the general public as soon as an “agreement is in place”. How good of them to point out the general public as soon as the taxpayers can’t do something.
One different factor:
“The town has pressured that no tax {dollars} can be used to construct the stadium itself….Nevertheless, the metropolis can be paying $30 million to enhance the parking zone, lights, in addition to bogs at Balloon Fiesta Park the place the stadium can be positioned” — KRQE, 02/02/2025
When requested about this contradiction, the soccer group responded in the best way that you’d anticipate. They proceed to say that this new stadium can be “privately funded” all of the whereas throwing in a bit of menace about how this undertaking is lifeless and “can’t happen” with out the property tax financial savings and metropolis contribution.
