The core of sports in Albuquerque and New Mexico is Lobo and Aggie athletics. During the summer it’s Isotopes baseball. Due to the lack of a professional sports team it does feel like the city is short changed when it comes to sports at times. There’s only so much indoor football one can take in. If the New Mexico Stars do return to action at the Santa Ana Star Center along with the Duke City Gladiators at Tingley Coliseum will you have two franchise that suffocate each other? Fans want to be entertained. The Albuquerque Sol are entering their second season in the PDL, a developmental soccer league. How big can soccer be in Albuquerque? How do the Sol grab the hundreds to thousands of kid’s parents who stuff the parks playing soccer on the weekend to buy tickets? It starts with the product, Sol soccer, then marketing, getting people to the games and finally how big is soccer getting in America? The games are currently being played at St. Pius high school and their second season begins on Saturday May 16th. The league features teams from around the region and players looking to take that next step in professional soccer. The structure of soccer leagues in America do allow teams to move up in leagues. Depending on how successful the Sol and how many fans they are able to draw could mean a bigger league in the future. It’s another risk in a market that has chewed up and spit out plenty of minor league sports franchise but a risk worth taking.
