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Gov. Bill Richardson has tasked the newly hired director of the state's Sports Authority with proposing a large, multipurpose arena for Bernalillo County.

Sort of like what the city is doing already.

Though the city is in the advanced stages of its own arena plan, city leaders said they welcome the governor's support, nonetheless.

"We appreciate that the governor is coming on board to help make that happen," said Ed Adams, the city's chief operations officer.

In announcing the appointment of Brian O'Neill as the authority's executive director last week, Richardson said in a news release that the arena project would be a priority.

Exactly what role O'Neill will play in the arena project is unclear, even to O'Neill.

"Right now, everything is really preliminary," O'Neill said this week. "We know this is a long-term project. Right now, I'm trying to just get out and get a feel for things."

O'Neill has served since July 2006 as deputy director of the Sports Authority, a branch of the state Tourism Department designed to create and support sporting events statewide.

He replaces Dennis Latta, who took a job as special projects coordinator with the state Public Education Department.

Allan Oliver, a spokesman for Richardson, said the governor is not attempting to compete with the city.

"The governor really believes that the largest community in the state needs a multipurpose arena that can hold 10,000 to 15,000 people and generate revenues for New Mexico," Oliver said. "We definitely don't feel it's meant to be a competition."

By comparison, the Santa Ana Star Center, a multipurpose arena in Rio Rancho that opened in the fall of 2006, holds 6,200.

O'Neill also said an arena in Albuquerque is "in the best interest of the state."

The city, meantime, is on track to have a 16,000-seat arena built Downtown.

That plan, put forward by a group led by Garfield Traub Development LLC, was chosen by an ad hoc city committee a year ago over two other competing proposals.

In its pitch, the group proposed a $350 million project along Central Avenue near the Albuquerque Convention Center that would include the arena, a 420-room Westin hotel, 60 upscale rental apartments and 50,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

Adams said the city is negotiating with the developers over the site plan and cost details in hopes of settling on a project that can go to the City Council for approval. He said officials from Garfield Traub met recently with Mayor Martin Chavez and council members.

"We have not gotten to that point of something we're comfortable with yet," Adams said. "Obviously we've got to have a package that makes financial sense."