MAC Center seeks to add turf field as team coaches express need

RIO RANCHO — The namesake of the McDermott Athletic Center is asking the city of Rio Rancho for the second expansion in a year of the popular recreational sports hub.

Michael McDermott, the athletic center’s owner, went before the Planning and Zoning Board June 10 to present a site plan that includes adding a 16,000-square-foot turf field with fencing on the south side of the facility, located at 801 Loma Colorado Blvd NE. The plan was unanimously approved by the board and goes to the Rio Rancho Governing Body for final approval.

In an interview following the meeting, McDermott said he was excited about the board’s approval while understanding he still has another hurdle to clear with the governing body.

“Ever since I’ve had the MAC, I’ve received nothing but support from the community,” said McDermott, who has owned the facility with his brother since 2016.

The proposal comes as several of local coaches bemoan what they see as a lack of field space for youth sports in Rio Rancho. McDermott said the lack of space is “something everyone in Rio Rancho feels.”

Tuesday marked the second time in over a year McDermott had gone before the city to propose expanding the MAC. In February 2024, the board approved his plan to add a restaurant, among other amenities — but a souring economy led him to pivot and pursue the turf field.

“My brother and I ... sat down and were like, ‘What does the community need? What do we hear from people?’” McDermott said. “It was, ‘We need a turf field.’”

The MAC already has batting cages for baseball and softball, a basketball court, an ice rink and a fitness center. The turf field project would require turfing over existing parking spaces, which would be replaced by a compacted dirt lot north of the athletic center, McDermott said in a letter to city officials.

He envisions a field for kids and teams playing soccer, lacrosse, football, rugby, baseball, softball, among others — though serving primarily as a practice facility. The MAC plans on offering flag football leagues, wiffle ball leagues, 7-on-7 soccer, and other various activities for “a wide array of sports and interests,” McDermott said.

“We’re not limited in scope at all as to what we’re going to do on that field, if we’re fortunate enough to get it,” he said. “It’s going to be come one, come all.”

Planning and Zoning Board at-large member Sal Tortorici said in an interview that while he believes the city does a great job providing sporting opportunities for youth, private industry investment is a big help.

Tortorici and fellow board member Lisa Hardisty, who represents District 6, acknowledged the limited number of athletic fields in Rio Rancho and said they were pleased McDermott and his team want to make up for it.

Justin Esquibel, who coaches the Hooligans, one of McDermott’s youth baseball teams, said he told McDermott for years the facility needed a turf field. His players use the MAC’s batting cages, but has to look for a field to play baseball.

“We can take ground balls and do pop-ups inside the MAC, but unless they learn situational baseball, then we’re not doing our job as coaches,” Esquibel said. “That’s why getting the turf behind the MAC is so important.”

Esquibel said given the difficulty of reserving space, his team will often play in the corner of a field until another teams asks them if they can use it.

Kurt Villers, who helps Esquibel with his team and also coaches with Sunset Little League, said it can be a challenge sharing nearby Loma Colorado Park with other sports teams.

“We have to collaborate with the flag football team and try to find a little space,” Villers said. “There are times when footballs are flying into our practice and baseballs are flying into their practice.”

He called a potential new turf field “extremely beneficial” not only for his team, but environmentally speaking because it would require less water.

“If there was a choice to be made between grass and turf, I would definitely put down turf,” Villers said.

Nate Cdebaca, president of Athletico New Mexico Soccer Club, based in Rio Rancho and Albuquerque’s westside, said his top concern is the lack of field space for his players.

“Soccer isn’t your typical sport ... where it doesn’t really matter what the surface is like,” Cdebaca said. “You need a quality surface to pretty much do anything because the ball is moving along the ground.”

His club uses the MAC Center for indoor soccer. But he is aware Rio Rancho is growing, as is the popularity of soccer.

“This (turf field proposal) is a huge need, and I really hope the city of Rio Rancho takes note of that because we want our youth to be healthy, to be active and soccer is probably the greatest sport for that,” Cdebaca said. “There’s a demand (for field space), but I don’t think the city is really meeting it.”