Is Real deal a done deal?

(by Leigh Dethman desnews.com 8-12-06)

Stadium: Fate of new plan now in Checketts'hands

Is it a Real deal or is it not?

Salt Lake County leaders faxed a stadium funding plan to Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts late Friday afternoon that includes $55 million in public subsidies. But as of Deseret Morning News press time, Checketts had yet to respond.

And according to Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, team officials aren't happy with the new plan. The team had everything ready for a 10 a.m. groundbreaking today —until they saw Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon's latest proposal. Anderson said the county changed several key points both sides agreed to during negotiations.

The county's plan came at the last possible minute, as Checketts had said public funding for a stadium must be hammered out before today's game between Real Madrid and Real Salt Lake.

The proposal came after 24 hours of intense negotiations among county leaders, Real officials, legislators and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

"I believe it is a plan that is feasible and protects the interests of the citizens of Salt Lake County," said county Mayor Peter Corroon, who spearheaded the proposal.

Spencer Checketts, the team's publicity manager, said he couldn't comment, and he declined to say when the team would make an announcement about the future of professional soccer in Salt Lake County.

But Anderson believes a groundbreaking is probably unlikely this morning.

"I hope we can do it, but it makes it real tough when Salt Lake County sends a fax over and disappears, and you can't clear things up, and there are plenty of things that need to be cleared up," the city mayor told KSL Newsradio's "Nightside Project."

Corroon said late Friday he and members of his staff spoke to both Checketts and Anderson after sending Real the proposal.

Despite Anderson's skepticism, Corroon said he believes the plan should satisfy Real brass. If it doesn't, Checketts said he has already hired someone to sell the team. Investors in Rochester, N.Y.; St. Louis and even Utah County are interested in buying.

Under the county's plan, Real would use $20 million in hotel-room tax revenues to build infrastructure for the stadium, with Sandy contributing $15 million in redevelopment agency funds. The team would also share a $20 million parking garage with the county-owned South Towne Exposition Center. It would be built on the west side of State Street.

In the past, county leaders voted down other stadium-funding proposals because of high interest payments. But taking out a $10 million bond in 2010 and another $10 million bond in 2015 alleviates those concerns, as the hotel-room tax dollars would then no longer be used to fund Salt Palace expansion, Corroon said.

But what really sold Corroon was the fact that the county would receive $27.5 million back in cash and in-kind contributions from Real. That money would come from parking and ticket revenue, youth soccer and a gift of $7.5 million to Salt Lake City from Real to build a soccer complex in the city.

The county plan didn't indicate how to split up the rest of the hotel-tax dollars.

Giving just $20 million of hotel-tax dollars to the stadium would leave plenty of hotel-tax revenue for other projects around the county. Salt Lake City's mayor wants to use some of that money to build a downtown performing arts center.

"What we're talking about now is not only financially painless for the county but allows the county those hotel taxes now where they can do so many other good things — and much of it in Salt Lake City," Anderson told KSL Newsradio's Doug Wright earlier in the day. "If these folks who have the authority to get this deal done had simply let this opportunity go by it would have been not only an embarrassment, but it would have been detrimental to the interests of everybody in this county."

If Checketts signs off on the deal, the County Council would have to officially vote on the terms. Five members of the council told Corroon they would vote for the plan, and that's enough votes for final approval.

Councilman Jim Bradley won't be one of those votes. He said the county shouldn't be in the business of giving public money to help private business.

"I'm not sure a public body like Salt Lake County ought to be using tax dollars to help a businessman make money on a retail development," Bradley said.

But Corroon's proposed deal was solid enough to flip Councilwoman Jenny Wilson's vote. She was one of the five council members to vote against the last funding plan in July. What won her over was the fact the county would share the South Towne Exposition Center's future parking facility with Real.

Before, she couldn't get over the fact that Real was asking for hotel-tax money that wasn't available now. It's tied up in Salt Palace expansion until 2010. But by sharing the parking garage, that eliminates the need for up-front funding, Wilson said.

"We had received a revenue stream for parking in Sandy that's right next to the stadium," Wilson said. "We're able now to divert the funding for that across the street, with no additional funding up front, and it will meet our needs to have parking on site and it will basically meet the needs of Real. And that changed the financial situation enormously."

The deal includes one caveat: If Real goes out of business, it will owe the county $10 million. Corroon's plan would also force Real to promise to maintain and play its games in the county for at least 30 years.

Other terms of the deal include a mandate that the stadium be built to environment-friendly standards and that Real would contribute $1 million per year in in-kind tourism promotion.