Dominant source of United soccer stadium funding should be private sources, not taxpayers

The New Mexico United soccer franchise had a great first season. With Santa Fe swimming in oil and gas revenues, the team’s ownership is already looking to cash in with a new soccer-specific stadium. Their plan (released after this interview was recorded) is for a $100 million facility with $30 million coming from the State. 

But, the plan is not finalized yet and local taxpayers can expect to also face additional demands for money to pay for a new facility for the team. Rio Grande Foundation president talked to KOB TV Channel 4 about the issue. While the comments were shortened dramatically for the story, the gist of the situation is that stadiums should NOT be funded with taxpayer dollars. That being said, the team and its owners/investors must come up with a significant proportion of the funding. Creative ideas like using the underutilized UNM football stadium or soccer facilities should also be considered.