SALA NEWS RELEASE

Nearly a year after submitting a Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) funding application to Los Alamos County for the Phase 2 development of SALA Event Center, Allan Saenz, owner of SALA Event Center, has made the difficult decision to withdraw from the process and has issued the following statement:

“My conclusion is that the hoped-for public-private partnership with Los Alamos County is not of serious enough interest to the County. We believed that there was a strong basis to partner on a project that would benefit both our business and the community. However, due to restrictive bureaucracy, the process has been slow and difficult, with no clear end in sight. Lacking a solid feeling of partnership, the best course of action seems to be to seek alternative funding sources.

“SALA remains committed to Phase 2 of our project and is exploring alternative financing approaches. We took the County’s goals and plans seriously and invested significant time and effort in our application and follow-ups. The LEDA capability would align with implementing the project and supporting county goals such as economic development, tourism, and business retention. However, we cannot afford to wait any longer and will pursue other options.

“To our dedicated supporters and collaborators, please be assured that we are actively exploring other funding opportunities. We remain committed to the SALA project and its potential to benefit the Los Alamos community in numerous ways. 

“I encourage everyone to learn more about our initiatives and to consider partnering with us to make this vision a reality.”

For further information and ways to support SALA, go to https://sala.losalamos.com/salaproject/ or email Allan Saenz at asaenz@losalamos.com.