No blank check for Real

(by Leigh Dethman and Amelia Nielson-Stowell desnews.com 4-19-06)

Deciding how $34 million will be spent isn't a minor detail.

Salt Lake County leaders aren't willing to write Real Salt Lake a blank check to help build a soccer stadium until they see a specific plan for paying for it.

Nearly two months after Real's first wish list for public financing for the stadium got a lukewarm reception from the mayor and County Council, county leaders this week said they are frustrated that Real is still tight-lipped on the details of how the money would be used.

"We're really in a waiting game," said Darrin Casper, the county's chief financial officer. "Until Real can tell us exactly how the public money is going to be spent, we can't even take the next step."

Real wants the county to chip in $34 million in hotel-tax revenue to pay for part of the $145 million stadium project. Another $7 million would come from Sandy city and $104 million would be financed through private funds. Both Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon and the County Council must approve the funding plan before any county money is spent.

Groundbreaking on the 22-acre Sandy stadium is expected to happen in August. The infrastructure costs that Real wants the county and Sandy city to pay for include sewer lines, road repairs and sidewalks.

Real Salt Lake officials say they're not tardy in releasing detailed cost estimates. They plan to give the county an itemized list next week, said Josh Ewing, spokesperson for Real.

"The timing is right," Ewing said. "It's just the county wants detailed estimates before they can be made available."

The reason for the delay is the team just hired a construction company last week, he said. Cost estimates in construction plans are usually worked out "much later on in the process," Ewing said, but because the county has asked for them earlier, "we're working faster than normal to get a price they're comfortable with."

Real officials have been working with the county, Sandy and the Utah Department of Transportation to lay out preliminary plans. They still hope to break ground at the end of the summer.

But Casper said once the county receives all the financial data, it will take months to get its end of the deal ready, partly because the county plans on hiring an independent consultant to do a study on whether soccer will thrive in Salt Lake. "This is not something that's an easy deal you can turn around right away," Casper said.

Real is sticking with the funding plan that it released in late February, and the numbers will not change much, Ewing said.

Several county officials were upset with the team for releasing the plan without consulting the county first. A press release at the time also said the plan met Mayor Peter Corroon's requirements, although he had not yet seen the plan.

"They were trying to get ahead of the curve and did that inappropriately," Councilman Joe Hatch said. "They've learned that lesson.

"I think they are moving at a fairly good pace," he added. "We're getting to a point where it's going to be a cut, bait or fight."