Alamogordo 1

 OCEDC has recruited several new employers by using financial incentives. A 1-800-Flowers call center opened in November 2001 and received $1.25 million in city rent abatements, a 50% reduction in property taxes from Otero County, and $940,000 in plant training funds from the State of New Mexico.  A Sunbaked Biscuits cookie factory opened in 2006 and received $800,000 in job-training incentives from the state.  When the company went out of business in 2007, Marietta Baking took over the cookie factory and received interest-free loans, job-training incentives, and partial forgiveness of indebtedness for job creation.  A branch office of PreCheck Inc., a company performing background checks of health-care workers, opened in 2006. PreCheck received $2.4 million in high-wage job creation tax credits, $1.5 million in job-training subsidies, $1.5 million in capital outlay money for roads and infrastructure, a $625,000 allocation from City of Alamogordo for upgrading sewer lines in the area, and 20.8 aces of land from Heritage Group, a developer.  PreCheck announced in 2009 that it would move its headquarters from Houston to Alamogordo. 

The Otero County Film Office,  an office of Otero County Economic Development Council, promotes film-making in Otero County by publicizing potential locations in the county and New Mexico's film financial incentive programs  and by recruitingextras for film productions. It sponsors the Desert Light Film Competition for middle and high school students to encourage learning about the film industry.  The 2007 film Transformers spent $5.5 million in New Mexico and $1 million in Alamogordo.  

There are two amateur theatrical groups in Alamogordo. Alamogordo Music Theatre  produces two musical productions annually at the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts. The NMSU-A Theatre on the Hill produces an annual spring performance for young audiences at the Rohovec Fine Arts Center on the New Mexico State University at Alamogordo campus,  and an annual Fall performance for general audiences.  

The Earth Day Fair is held annually on the last Saturday in April at Alameda Park Zoo. It features a butterfly release, a science fair, activities for children, and information booths from local health agencies and nonprofits. 

Otero County Fair is held annually in early August at the County Fairgrounds at the corner of White Sands Boulevard and Fairgrounds Road in Alamogordo. It features a rodeo, animal judging, food and game booths, and carnival rides. Nonprofit and government agencies set up information booths in the exhibit hall. 

The Cottonwood Arts and Crafts Festival is put on each Labor Day Weekend in Alameda Park by the Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce. It is primarily a showplace for vendors of handmade items, but also features music, entertainment, and food. 

White Sands Balloon Invitational is held annually in late September. Hot air balloons launch from the Riner-Steinhoff Soccerplex on First Street or from White Sands National Monument and float over the Tularosa Basin. 

Oktoberfest is celebrated annually in late September, hosted by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) at Holloman Air Force Base. The public is invited, and shuttle buses run between Alamogordo and the base.  

New Mexico Museum of Space History is a state museum housing artifacts related to space flight. It incorporates the International Space Hall of Fame.[82]Ham the Astrochimp is buried here.[ 

Flickinger Center for Performing Arts, located at 1110 New York Avenue, is a 590-seat theater created in 1988 from a re-purposed movie theater. It hosts concerts and live theatrical performances by touring groups, and is the venue for the local amateur group Alamogordo Music Theater. 

Alamogordo Museum of History (formerly Tularosa Basin Historical Society Museum) collects artifacts related to the history of Alamogordo and the Tularosa Basin. It is a private museum, operated by the Tularosa Basin Historical Society.  Among notable items in the collection is a 47-star US Flag; New Mexico was the 47th state admitted to the Union, and US flags were made with 47 stars only for one month, until Arizona was admitted.  The Museum shop has a large collection of local history books. The Historical Society also publishes its own series of monographs on local history, Pioneer.  The Museum had planned to move from its location at 1301 N. White Sands Boulevard to a historic adobe building at the corner of White Sands Boulevard and Tenth Street by the end of 2008,  but as of July 2009 this plan has stalled due to lack of money to renovate the building. 

American Armed Forces Museum is a museum on U. S. Route 82 near Florida Avenue that opened in 2011. It collects and displays all kinds of military memorabilia from all wars and military engagements. 

The Shroud Exhibit And Museum, located in White Sands Mall, showcases a full-sized backlit photographic transparency of the Shroud of Turin, a religious relic believed by some to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. The displayed photograph is based on 1978 photographs made by Barrie M. Schwortz as part of the Shroud of Turin Research Project. The displays include historical background materials and an exhibit of electronic image analysis of the shroud. 

The Alameda Park Zoo, the oldest zoo in the U.S. Southwest, is located in the city. Several Union-Apache battles were fought near Oliver Lee Memorial State Park.  

The White Sands PupFish were the first ever professional baseball team in Alamogordo. They play in the Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs and started in the 2011 Season.  The Alamogordo Desert Dawgs  are an amateur football team formed in 2008. They are part of the New Mexico Football Alliance.  The Desert Dawgs are organized as a limited liability companyowned by Tony Castiglione and Kenneth Mitchell,  and have local sponsors underwriting expenses.  The team has an agreement with Alamogordo Public Schools by which the Desert Dawgs practice and play home games at Alamogordo High School's Tiger Stadium and the school district receives 20% of the home gate.  Tiger Stadium is nicknamed "The Dawg Pound" when the Desert Dawgs play there. Several of the team members are airmen from nearby Holloman Air Force Base. 

Fun run/walks are popular in Alamogordo, although most are one-shot affairs put on as part of some larger event. One recurring event is Walk Out West, a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) walk held each October inAlameda Park Zoo. It incorporates a health fair, live music, and fun events for kids.  An offshoot of this is Dance Otero, an informal approach to ballroom dancing as a form of physical exercise that meets throughout the year.  Both programs are run through Otero PATH, a local nonprofit that encourages preventive measures for good health. 

There are a number of annual sports events. The Tommy Padilla Memorial Basketball Tournament  is an annual event held in March. It is an adult tournament that raises money for scholarships for Alamogordo High School students.[107] The Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament is a national program that holds a tournament in Alamogordo each year in May. Prior to 2008 it was hosted by the Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce, and since then by the City of Alamogordo.  The City receives 72% of the entry fees and 5% of the gross proceeds taken in by vendors.  The event is held annually at Washington Park in conjunction with Saturday in the Park and Armed Forces Day.  In 2009 more than 233 teams participated in the tournament. Several golf tournaments are held each year at Desert Lakes Golf Course, including the Robert W. Hamilton Charity Golf Classic. 

Alamogordo has numerous small parks scattered through the city, and a few larger ones. Mentioned here are some of the more notable parks. 

Alameda Park is a city park lying on the west side of White Sands Boulevard between Tenth Street and Indian Wells Road. Most of the park is shaded by cottonwood trees. At the south end of the park is Alameda Park Zoo and at the north end is The Toy Train Depot, a railroad and toy train museum. 

Washington Park is a city park in the center of town, bounded by Washington and Oregon Avenues and running from First Street to Indian Wells Road. City Hall and several other city buildings are located in the park.  At the north end of the park is Kids Kingdom,  a children's play area with a giant jungle gym.

There are public athletic fields at the Jim R. Griggs Sports Complex, located at the corner of Florida Avenue and Fairgrounds Road, and the Travis C. Hooser Ballfield Complex (also called Walker Field) located at the corner of U.S. Route 70 and Walker Road. 

The Alamogordo Family Recreation Center, at 1100 Oregon Avenue, is a city-owned facility offering a weight room, swimming pool (open year round), and basketball gym. There are outdoor tennis courts north of the building.  The Alamogordo Senior Center is a city facility for senior citizens that provides a social center and an exercise room and serves congregate meals and Meals on Wheels. 

Desert Lakes Golf Course is a city-owned golf course located at the south end of town on Hamilton Road at Desert Lakes Road. It is an 18-hole course. The clubhouse houses a restaurant and a pro shop. There is a PGA golf pro on duty at the course. 

Not inside the city but nearby are several national and state parks. The Oliver Lee Memorial State Park is about 10 miles south on U.S. Route 54, offers camping, hiking, and picnicking.  The White Sands National Monument, a U.S. National Monument, is located about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Alamogordo along U.S. Route 70. The area is in the mountain-ringed Tularosa Basin valley area and comprises the southern part of a 275-square-mile (710 km2) field of white sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals.  The Lincoln National Forest, whose headquarters are in Alamogordo, is a mountainous area that starts about 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Alamogordo and offers hiking, fishing, and camping.  The Sidney Paul Gordon Shooting Range, located about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of town at 19 Rock Cliff Road in La Luz, is a supervised range with rifle, pistol, and archery ranges. Several competitions are held at the range each month.  

Alamogordo was incorporated in 1912.  It is a charter city (also called a home rule city), and the charter is included as Part I of the Code of Ordinances. It has a Council-manager government form of government (called Commission/Manager in New Mexico).  There are seven city commissioners, each elected from a district within the city, on staggered 4-year terms.  The city manager is considered the chief executive officer of the city and is tasked to enforce and implement the City Council's directives and policy.  The mayor is a member of the City Council. Currently, Ron Griggs holds the position of mayor. 

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