Santa Ana Star Center

Rio Rancho, NM
Construction Cost: $32.23 million
Area / Square Feet: 8,500
Occupancy Date: October 2006

Located 2.5 miles north of the current edge of Rio Rancho, the completion of the Santa Ana Star Center marks the first building to be built in an entirely new city center/downtown development.With Rio Rancho calling itself ?The City of Vision,? the Santa Ana Star Center will be the primary catalyst for new development plans. Soon to follow are a city hall, restaurants, specialty retailers, a movie studio and production facilities, theaters and more.

The event center relates to the vernacular of New Mexico architecture. Deep recessed windows border the arena concourse, while six complementary colors of stucco reinforce the exterior forms. A southeast-facing balcony overlooks the plaza and faces the mountains. The entry plaza was designed to accommodate a high volume of activity.

Built into a hill, the event center plan allows access to two entrances on separate suite and ground-concourse levels. The lower-level plaza will complement the downtown development. The center offers a variety of food-service options to the surrounding area residents in addition to the arena patron, and included in the design are plans for a future restaurant with an adjacent entry.