State taxpayers pay for SF rugby fields

SANTA FE (KRQE) - More than a decade ago, Santa Fe taxpayers paid over $20 million for the Municipal Recreation Complex.

Now, it is a popular place from spring until fall for area soccer players, baseball players, softball players and golfers.

Just across the road from the MRC are two rugby fields and a nearly 1,300 square foot building that is often closed to the public.

Santa Fe taxpayers are not the only ones who paid over $1 million for the rugby fields and building that hardly anyone uses, New Mexico state taxpayers also did.

Through the New Mexico Legislature, state taxpayers paid $980,000 for the rugby fields and the building, even though it benefits only a handful of people who play a sport.

?To tell you the truth, I didn?t even know we had rugby teams here in Santa Fe,? said state Senator Phil Griego. ?I knew we had a lot of soccer teams.?

Griego has represented the district where the MRC has been located for the last 16 years, but the money for the rugby complex did not come from him.

?I never allocated any money for the rugby fields,? Griego said.

As it turns out, former state Senator Shannon Robinson, who represented a central Albuquerque district for 20 years until he was defeated in 2008, sponsored the bills that set aside $930,000 for the rugby fields and the building.

The allocations spanned an 8-year period from 1999 to 2007.

Former state Senator John Grubesic, who was elected from the Santa Fe area, sponsored a bill that allocated another $50,000 to the project. The city pitched in $45,000 for the project, according to city records.

?That was one of the great accomplishments I had as a legislator was to build those fields,? Robinson told KRQE News 13.

Robinson is a former coach of the University of New Mexico?s rugby club team and the current coach of UNM?s women?s rugby club team.

?I?ve coached rugby in this state for almost 25 years,? Robinson said.

Santa Fe's public works director, Isaac Pino, says more than 2,000 adults and children regularly use the city?s soccer fields at the MRC. Pino also said nearly 750 softball and baseball players regularly use the ball fields at the MRC.

Compare that to the number of rugby teams and players in the city.

?(There are) three rugby teams,? Pino said. ?One youth, one adult and one high school ? (which equals) about 60 people.?

The building, which houses a concession stand, bathrooms and a 400 square foot community room where the rugby team stores its gear, cost more than $660,000 alone. The only people allowed to use it are the members of the Santa Fe Rugby Football Club.

While Pino said the city has started to allow other sports and teams to use the rugby fields, most of the time the road to the fields is barred by a metal gate with a ?closed? sign on it. Also the concession stand is used exclusively by the rugby club only.

When asked if he thought Santa Fe needed dedicated rugby fields, Robinson said rugby has been in Santa Fe for years.

?How long has the rugby club been there?? Robinson said. ?Over 30 years...that?s an important part of that city?s identity.?

Griego, who grew up in the Santa Fe area, says that is knew to him.

?I didn?t even know we had rugby fields in my district,? Griego said.

In fact, Griego said it?s highly unusual for a legislator to allocate nearly $1 million so far outside his district unless it?s for an extraordinary state project like the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.

?Most of the districts where we get capital outlay, that we represent, need every penny,? Griego said ?That money would go to my community centers, to my senior centers, to my roads, to my water projects.?

However, the community centers, senior centers and roads in Robinson?s home district didn?t get the $930,000 he spent in Santa Fe. What they got was a rugby complex 60 miles to their north.

Robinson, who was a Democrat, represented part of Albuquerque?s troubled International District for 20 years, back when it was known as ?The War Zone.?

He was defeated by state Senator Tim Keller in the 2008 Democratic primary, but has changed his party affiliation to Republican and is running again for his old job in next month?s general election.

When asked if his former constituents could have benefited more from the money he spent on rugby in Santa Fe, Robinson said he did.

?I think they benefit a lot from it ?because it?s a state project,? Robinson said. ?It involves youth sports.?

Griego disagreed.

?Unless you play rugby, I don?t know what the benefit would be,? Griego said.
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Source: http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/on_assignment/state-taxpayers-pay-for-sf-rugby-fields

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