Doubts over soccer tournament's new locale

For the first time the state soccer tournament finals are being held at the new APS Soccer Complex on Albuquerque s Westside
The finals are just days away but already some of the players and coaches are saying it was a mistake to move the tournament there from Bernalillo

Some of the high school soccer players and coaches don t think the new complex can handle the estimated 8 000 people that are expected to attend the tournament

APS officials say they shouldn t be so quick to judge

For years the state soccer tournament has been held in Bernalillo It s a place most St Pius High School players and coaches of the girls varsity soccer team seem to prefer

I think I can speak for everyone most everyone on our team we ve grown up playing soccer at the Bernalillo complex so we re kind of used to that St Pius Senior Christy Barela said Monday

This year the tournament is at the new APS Soccer Complex but some are concerned there isn t enough parking or seating for spectators

St Pius Senior Amanda Graham said With Bernalillo the championship fields fields 7 and 8 there s huge hills and the Westside doesn t have that

St Pius Coach David Sullivan said the Albuquerque metro tournament had major issues

During the metro tournament parking was atrocious Sullivan said If they ve got some additional parking it may help it out quite a bit I don t know yet

APS officials say they have added more parking since the metro tournament and more seating

They ve increased the number of bleachers from eight to 44

The fields have also been widened and will be widened even more after this soccer season wraps up

I don t think they ve seen it since we ve done a lot of the work so I would hope that they go out and enjoy the venue and let s hear what they have to say after the tournament is over because we re going to do everything we can to make it a great tournament APS Chief Operations Officer Brad Winter said

The New Mexico Athletics Association made the call to move the tournament from Bernalillo to Albuquerque

They say by doing that it s going to save them more than 30 000 and they also think the facility will be safer for the kids and parents