New Mexico United: Club with a community cause

Article posted by Coliseum, July 28^th, 2025

Image: Coliseum GSVA

Ron Patel’s jocular nature touches a chord with all. At the helm of the American professional soccer team New Mexico United (US) he says that they use soccer as a vehicle to bring the different communities together.

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The soccer team has hogged the limelight for its strong community connections and on-field success.

Ron Patel is the President of the New Mexico United, a professional soccer club based in Albuquerque, New Mexico (US). After Co-Founding the New Mexico United in 2018 with the club’s Majority Owner and head honcho Peter Trevisani Patel helped guide the New Mexico United to league leading attendance and merchandise figures as its Vice-President of Sales.

In a lively conversation with ‘Coliseum’, Ron Patel, President, New Mexico United, US, says that that the club’s ambition is to “bring the New Mexicans together in a way that they have never been brought together before”. He says that the club transforms the events into immersive experiences resonating emotionally with the fans thus driving increased in-venue spending. Talking about the New Mexico United’s Kick Out Cancer Theme, he affirmed, “I don’t think these kinds of things are done in sports anywhere in the world where our players go to the hospitals to meet the cancer survivors.” Patel also averred that “when we work with things we do not work with the spreadsheets. We focus on Smiles and we focus on the Impact and the Revenue.”

New Mexico United

The New Mexico United is an American professional soccer team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico (US). Founded on June 6^th, 2018 the team currently plays in the United Soccer League (USL) Championship, the second division of American soccer. The club plays its home games at the 13,500-capacity Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque.

A spirited Ron Patel began by stating, “We actually play in a baseball stadium and we are in the process of building our facility and we hope that will be done in the next two to three years.”

The latest on the New Mexico United venue is that the plans for a permanent stadium at the Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, are moving forward after a key legal appeal was denied recently clearing the way for construction to begin. Three residential associations had sued to block the stadium arguing over noise and traffic effects.

Themes

Put in Patel, “We have three types of themes – we have a Hype Theme which is a Cinco de Mayo (commemorates the Mexican Army’s astonishing victory over a much larger French contingent at the Battle of Puebla in 1862), 4^th of July, Blackout. We have an Impact Theme that is our Pride of the Pitch, Indigenous People’s Day and Kick Out Cancer and then we have Connection Day – Meow Wolf Night.”

Blackout Night

The New Mexico United’s ‘Blackout Night’ is a themed match night with a specific focus on creating a visually striking and energetic atmosphere. It typically involves a large number of fans wearing black attire, free flag giveaways and often includes a fireworks display after the match. The event is designed to be a high-energy, visually impressive end to the regular season.

Informed Patel, “The Blackout Night is where the players wear black and it is not just about the two hours during the games. We party till the local artiste desire creating a Blackout theme virtually. The shirts have the same Black theme. This helps us to bring in new audiences. In the 2024 Blackout Night our Concessions average dollar spent per fan in attendance was up 17 percent and our Merchandise per cap was up 67 percent per fan in attendance in the stadium.”

Kick Out Cancer Night

Talking about the Kick Out Cancer Night Patel added, “In the 2024 Kick Out Cancer Night the players did not wear their names on the back of their jerseys. They wore the name of a child who is battling cancer in one of the cancer institutes and a photo shoot session was done with the cancer survivor children holding the hands of the players who wore vibrant pink jerseys for that particular occasion. Our focus is on the Impact, the dollars will follow.”

Meow Wolf Night

The Meow Wolf Night is an annual event that combines a New Mexico United soccer game with the immersive art and entertainment of Meow Wolf (American arts and entertainment company). It’s a celebration of art, community and sports featuring a costume contest and interactive art stations and a tailgate party.

Maintained Patel, “It is very hard to understand this collaboration. It is so hard to explain without actually being there. Basically, it’s like an art gallery and the first day we had 85,000 people. We sold 5, 30,000 tickets at 20 dollars per ticket to Meow Wolf. It was like a Halloween Party and they have performers. This is something which is uniquely New Mexican and you can bring in the Mexicans together.”

He added, “The average attendance was about 95 percent – about a 16 percent higher in attendance, 28 percent higher concessions per cap.”

Conclusion

The New Mexico United’s focus is on fostering meaningful partnerships with the communities across New Mexico to address barriers to well-being. And their Kick Out Cancer Night is more than just a game. They work towards a cause for children battling with cancer with a portion of the proceeds going to the Pink Warrior House Foundation (a nonprofit organization in Albuquerque).

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