Profitable partnerships

Las Cruces honored as SI Sportstown for New Mexico

By Andrew Schulman

For some time the City of Las Cruces, N. Mex., has been lauded in agriculture and culinary circles for turning out some of the spiciest chile peppers and tastiest pecans in the U.S. Now that the city has been named the Sports Illustrated Sportstown for America’s 47th state, it will also be known for some of the best community sports and recreation programs in the country as well.

Since its recreation programming was organized in the 1950s, the city has built an impressive list of partner organizations that develop and program youth, adult and senior sports for its residents. Providers like the Las Cruces Youth Baseball Association, PAL Boxing Club and Mesilla Valley Track Club –- along with many others –- all add to the offerings available to the people of Las Cruces.

“Our department, in addition to providing some programming and overseeing the facilities, manages the relationships with each of these non-profit organizations,” said James M. Rivera, Las Cruces’ recreation manager. Rivera has been on leave for the last year while he serves with the military. “Each of these groups has an official contract with city to provide their services and part of our charge is to facilitate those agreements and make sure each side is fulfilling out its obligations.”

In Las Cruces, partnerships are a way of life as the Recreation Department works with the local governments, the school district and the private sector to ensure that its residents have most opportunities to play and the best facilities to play in.

One example of this is the High Noon soccer fields. Built in 1999 –- and expanded in 2002 –- the fields were the result of a partnership between the state, county, city and the U.S. Soccer Federation. The complex, built in an underserved area, is now home to the High Noon Soccer League, which administers very popular local programs and helps host national and regional tournaments and exhibitions as well.

Many of the kids who take part in Las Cruces’ youth programs have helped make many of the City’s local high school teams extremely competitive on the county and state levels.

"One of the ways we judge our success is the caliber of person and athlete that our programs are helping to develop," said Rivera. "With many of our high school programs excelling in the state playoffs –- two of our football teams met in the state championship game last year -– we seem to be succeeding on that front.”

And while Las Cruces makes sure its youth are taken care of, the city’s active senior population –- it has become a popular retirement area –- has also embraced the opportunities afforded it.

“Our seniors are participating in all kinds of sports and recreation, and the Senior Games are very popular here,” said Benjamin Sauceda, the city’s acting recreation manager. “In the past, participants would train for six weeks leading up to the competition, but now, our seniors workout year-round and take part in sports like track and field, racquetball and basketball.”

At the end of the day, whether it’s the seniors, adults or youth, the positive effects of recreation on Las Cruces are visible all around.

“For us, the best part of this job is that when you walk out, you can see the fruits of our labor,” said Rivera. “From the kids playing on the ball fields and tennis courts to the adults and seniors staying active and competing, you can see it all happening right in front of you.”