The University
College campuses inject a youthful energy into any community, mostly because “the younger university crowd has that freshness in their ideas,” Miller-Hernandez said.
NMSU is freshening up its campus meeting and event facilities, which are used for events ranging from “two-hour meetings of nonprofits all the way up to the Accelerated Christian Education International Student Convention,” a five-day convention that will bring 3,000 people to campus in May, said Julie Weber, director of housing and campus life.
The university’s Corbett Center Student Union is now undergoing a 15-month, $13 million renovation that is scheduled to be completed in April, although the meeting space is expected to be available again by February 1, she said.
The center does “double and triple duty” as a gathering place for students and as the university’s de facto conference and event facility, she said. The renovation will reconfigure the center to clearly define the student space and consolidate the conference space.
In addition to refreshing all the meeting areas, the project will do away with three rooms on the second floor and will move most of the meeting space to the third floor. Crews will refurbish the 11,000-square-foot ballroom, which can be split into three smaller rooms, with new furnishings and finishes and will update the room’s technology and audiovisual components. The renovation includes covering the stage portion of the center’s outdoor amphitheater area with awnings to make performers and speakers more comfortable and to boost the area’s electrical and Internet capacity. The student union also has an auditorium with fixed theater seating for 280 people.
A $600,000 gift from a NMSU alum is funding the construction of a new nondenominational spiritual center on campus that is expected to be complete this month, Weber said. The center, which has a hint of “chapel” to it, will feature fixed theater-style seating for about 120 people as well as audiovisual capabilities for presentations, and will be available for lectures, seminars and small meetings.
Downtown
Downtown Las Cruces is in the midst of a renaissance. Over the past decade, Main Street has been “completely redone,” Miller-Hernandez said. It was converted from a pedestrian mall back into a through street, and the Downtown Las Cruces Partnership has led the charge on projects such as facade improvements and pedestrian-friendly upgrades, including the construction of La Placita, a canopied outdoor plaza that’s both a public gathering spot and a special-event venue.
Today, downtown’s art galleries, museums and festivals are a big draw, and more bars and restaurants are opening all the time, Miller-Hernandez said. The Main Street Bistro and Ale House makes its own bratwurst, features about a dozen seasonal and craft beers on tap and has an area in the back for receptions. The 1926 Rio Grande Theater is also available for events and receptions. Groups can book the restored 422-seat theater; make use of its stage, lobby and balcony; and even rope off the sidewalk in front.
The city’s annual SalsaFest, now in its seventh year and always in late August, is also held downtown. On Saturdays, downtown plays host to the Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market, which also happens one Wednesday night each month during the summer.
“Some people will plan evening events downtown on that Wednesday because there are a ton of food trucks and entertainment and music, and it’s all free,” Miller-Hernandez said.
