Gov. Bill Richardson has a new plan to inject life into the state's economy - bringing a nationally televised preseason NFL game to University Stadium.
"The governor wants to make New Mexico more attractive for sporting events, especially national ones," said Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for the governor. "This is just one of the many initiatives he is taking to help the state's economy."
Gallegos said Richardson is very serious about accomplishing the goal. The governor has already spoken to management of the Arizona Cardinals, the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants - whose owner he knows personally.
"Governor Richardson is seriously learning how to get this done, but he's taking his time," Gallegos said. "He understands that there is a lot of red tape to go through."
The obvious location for the event would be University Stadium, Gallegos said, because its 43,000 seats make it the largest football venue in the state.
He said the governor has not set a timeline for accomplishing the goal, but he hopes to speak with NFL officials "in the near future."
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Although it is small by NFL standards, UNM is ready to do its part to organize the event should it ever happen, said Rudy Davalos, the University's athletic director.
"The governor contacted me several months ago with this idea and we are very interested in what it could mean for UNM and the state," Davalos said.
Davalos said he wasn't sure how successful Richardson would be in his attempts at getting an NFL preseason game to Albuquerque, but said "with his prestige and background, he just might be able to pull it off."
"I don't know what kind of success he's going to have, but he can count on all the support from us that he needs," he said.
Davalos noted that besides the revenue raised from renting the stadium to the teams and selling concessions, UNM wouldn't stand to gain much financially from the deal.
He said the majority of the revenue generated through the game would go back to the NFL, but such an event might go a long way in putting New Mexico in the spotlight for similar future events.
Davalos said if Richardson is serious about the idea, he thinks he could have plans in place as early as next fall.
Davalos added that the state also imposes a five percent gross receipts tax on such events.
Greg Iaello, vice president of communications for the NFL, said such an idea is not out of the question and that NFL teams have opted to have their preseason games at university stadiums several times.
"It is completely up to the teams," Iaello said, adding that the NFL urges teams to have their preseason games in as many different places as possible to boost their fan base. "If the stadium is up to our standards and organizers think they can fill those seats, there is no reason why it couldn't happen."
Iaello said any university looking to be the site of an NFL game should not expect to make a large profit. He said both the teams and the league expect to be paid and there are costs such as insurance that event organizers must shoulder.
