Rio Rancho is called "The City of Vision," as it has become a most unusual growth center in New Mexico. Most cities and towns in the state have some history built upon most of a century as part of America. Rio Rancho, however, does not have such history. Some communities date to the Spanish conquistadors, while others have undated Anasazi history as Native American pueblos. Rio Rancho is a new community, where a mere 40 years ago there were roads roughly graded with a grid appearance on the mesa west of Albuquerque. Albuquerque residents were hearing about marketing dinners being held in New York City where developers were showing the investment properties and retirement prospects in Rio Rancho, N.M. It was the laugh of the area that New Yorkers would leave the East where they shoveled snow to move to Rio Rancho to shovel blowing sand!

The laughing stopped when Rio Rancho started attracting major businesses such as Intel to set up manufacturing in Rio Rancho and offering major incentives for long-term commitments. Intel has spent billions of dollars in its fabrication facilities in Rio Rancho and continues to grow. Other major firms such as Sumitomo continue to locate in Rio Rancho. The city of Albuquerque has grown virtually to its geographical limits, as it is bordered by a military reservation on the south, a National Forest on the east, Sandia Pueblo on the north and other controlled lands on the west. Rio Rancho has vast amounts of land available for growth. Rio Rancho grew as many houses were built and business opened in the area; however, the city grew without a defined "city center" like most communities have.

Recently, the New Mexico Scorpions professional hockey team, after successfully developing a following of fans in the area, sought better facilities than available at the aging Tingley Coliseum at the New Mexico State Fairgrounds, now called Expo New Mexico. It is interesting to note that Tingley Coliseum was built by Bradbury Stamm almost 50 years ago. Albuquerque leaders talked about building a new arena/sports center in downtown Albuquerque, but the ideas went nowhere. As it had with attracting major businesses, Rio Rancho became aggressive in attracting the Scorpions, committing to build a new 160,000-square-foot arena. The arena, officially the Rio Rancho Events Center, is only part of the new facilities now in planning and under development in the immediate area. The events center is also expected to be the home of the New Mexico Thunderbirds National Basketball Association Development League team and the New Mexico Special Olympics. The 160-acre site of the Civic Center will not just be home to government offices. There are also commitments for a multi-screen theater, a film studio for Lions Gate Enterprises, and many other significant businesses. Groundbreaking and dedication ceremonies for the new Civic Center were held June 15, 2006. The area is east of Unser Boulevard and north of 30th Avenue and has a spectacular view of the Sandia Mountains and the Rio Grande Valley.

A contract was awarded to Hunt/Bradbury Stamm Construction, a joint venture; construction work commenced in August 2005. Hunt Construction Group of Scottsdale, Ariz., a company over 62 years old, is recognized nationally for building this type of facility. The Dallas regional office of Hunt has the responsibility for the project within the Hunt organization. Bradbury Stamm is a very old, well respected Albuquerque-based construction firm that has gained much national recognition through its history of over 83 years. Hunt has specific, relevant experience in arena construction, while Bradbury Stamm brings local credibility with suppliers and subcontractors. Together, they have assembled a team to make the events center a reality in a few short months. The architectural firm is Sink Combs Dethlefs of Denver, an experienced designer of similar facilities. Martin & Martin of Lakewood, Colo., is providing structural engineering services for the project. Civil engineering services are being provided by Parsons Brinckeroff Quade & Douglas Inc. from its Albuquerque offices.

Earthmoving began in August 2005. Almost any significant project has major obstacles to overcome; however, few compare with the lack of water supply and electricity at the construction site during the first 11 months of construction. While this may sound insignificant, consider that the earthmoving that had to be accomplished was approximately 1.2 million cubic yards, with the excess material being hauled to the site of the new City Hall. By law, water is necessary for dust abatement, as well as for compaction. All water had to be transported over one and a half miles to the site by tank trucks or water wagons. Portable generators provided site electricity until July 14, 2006. The site was remote and literally undeveloped. In spite of these obstacles, the work has stayed on schedule. Victor Corp. was the earthmoving subcontractor. TLC Co. Inc. is the utility subcontractor on the project, with a major portion of its work involving connection to existing utilities over a mile and a half away.

One of the most difficult aspects of the project was to construct a retaining wall almost 40 feet high along the south side of the facility. A Shotcrete wall averaging 10 inches thick and reinforced with a double mat of No. 5 rebar was the final design approach. Vulcan Materials Co. is responsible for the Shotcrete. Concrete slabs were poured mostly in June 2006 by Noel Co. of Albuquerque.

The design is interesting, making the facility truly multi-use. For hockey and other sports arena usage, there is full court seating around the entire court. For concert usage, there is a stage at the northwest end of the oval. The conversion of the stage area is made possible by folding bleachers. When in use as a hockey arena, the seating capacity is 6,500. For concert use, the stage reduces seating; however, the floor seating in the center combines to make the total capacity 8,200 seats. The facility is designed with a VIP lounge, 500 club seats, four club suites, and 26 luxury suites.

The design is a structural steel frame with precast, pre-stressed concrete units for the elevated seating areas. Interesting is the fact that the location has been determined to be in a seismic zone. This has made bracing a design necessity to stabilize the structure in the event of an earthquake. That feature has been seen in very little construction in central New Mexico through the years. The cost of such an addition is very insignificant, considering the potential savings and occupant safety factors that are provided for such an "earth-shaking" event. The exterior of the facility has metal studs supporting sheeting, with stucco surfaces and glass making a favorable visual impact.

Structural steel erection began in February 2006, and the topping out ceremony was held on May 18th. The last of the structural steel was placed June 13th, with the closure of the east end of the structure. A total of 360 tons of structural steel is on the project. In order to meet the seismic zone requirements, the sheer plates and sway bracing have full penetration welds in all of the placements. It was an unusually windy springtime in the area. Those winds often presented a major challenge for the steel erection. Alamo Steel of Waco, Texas, is the structural steel supplier, and Bosworth Steel Erectors Inc. of Dallas is the subcontractor for structural steel erection.

Coreslab Structures of Albuquerque provided the precast concrete seating units. Placement of these units was handled by Bosworth Steel Erectors Inc. as part of its subcontract. A significant part of the seating precast units were in place at the May 18 topping out.

The project was on schedule for substantial completion by Oct. 17, 2006, and the puck is to drop Nov. 3 at the first Scorpion game of the season.

Michael Perry with the Hunt office in Dallas has overall responsibility for the project. Project manager is Steve Bell, and David Watral is project engineer. Ed Fortenbury is project superintendent.