Politicos back Real stadium

(by Amelia Nielson-Stowell and Leigh Dethman desnews.com 8-10-06)

Real Salt Lake is hoping an impressive political fan club will resurrect a funding plan for a Sandy stadium.

The professional soccer team plans to continue pitching a funding plan to Salt Lake County, but this time, with the help of Utah's power players: Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson and additional legislators, who are now on board.

Real management spent Wednesday meeting with Utah leaders, rallying support. Team owner Dave Checketts has a self-imposed deadline of this Saturday to lock in a stadium site and funding. That is also the day of the highly anticipated Real Salt Lake vs. Real Madrid game.

Team officials also met Wednesday with Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan. He remains optimistic that the stadium will be in his hometown but realizes it's a tough task.

"They didn't say 'yes,' they didn't say 'no,' " Dolan said. "They're still working on numbers, and they hope to see it happen."

However, he added, "I just don't see how they can get the county to move."

Dolan said Real has already bought 20 acres at the site on 9400 S. State and has options on an additional 30-40 acres around the stadium. The team is currently actively pursuing that property, he said.

Real is working on more funding plans for the Sandy site. But Salt Lake County has already shot down one plan from Real this week.

Checketts sent a team of financial advisers from New York to find a stadium-funding solution. One adviser met with county leaders Wednesday to pitch an idea but struck out, as county officials yet again nixed a funding plan that would have used hotel-tax dollars to buy land and build infrastructure for the stadium.

Every plan brought before Salt Lake County leaders to date includes millions in hotel-tax dollars, but so far, no plan has passed Mayor Peter Corroon's muster.

The problem with every plan is that those hotel taxes are currently funding a Salt Palace expansion — and Real needs the money now.

"Nobody has ever solved the gap," said Doug Willmore, the county's chief administrative officer. "The mayor can't support something unless that gap is closed."

Another problem facing any new funding plan using hotel-tax dollars is that the money may no longer be available. Republican legislative leaders might redirect that money to build 30 miles of commuter-rail lines in Salt Lake County.

When asked Wednesday on KSL-Radio if a plan was afoot, Checketts said: "There is, but it's a long way from home. It hasn't even rounded first base yet. There is a plan I would be comfortable with. It would be a win-win for everybody."

He said he would like to have a solution by Saturday, and if he doesn't, he likely will make an announcement on Monday.

"We have someone ready to represent us to sell the club," he said. "And perhaps the club will be sold to someone even in Utah, perhaps these gentlemen in Utah County who wish to put it on the old Geneva site."

He added: "I don't make any threats because that's not who I am."

Development company Anderson Geneva offered up 30 acres of free land to Real in July, on the old Geneva Steel site in Vineyard. On top of that, investors in Rochester, N.Y., and St. Louis have contacted Major League Soccer about purchasing the franchise.

Mayor Dolan shot down rumors that Sandy might attempt to fund the stadium on its own by raising taxes.

"Absolutely not," he said. The only money available is redevelopment agency dollars, "the tax revenues produced by the project itself," he added. "We have no other revenue streams."

He confirmed that the Salt Lake mayor is now pledging his support for a Sandy stadium, on the conditions that Real still builds a $7.5 million soccer complex in the county and that $45 million in hotel-room tax dollars goes toward a downtown arts district.

"When I say it's very politically charged, I still believe that," Dolan said. "I think people shot themselves in the foot because they didn't want Sandy to have a soccer stadium."

Mike Mower, spokesman for the governor, said Huntsman wants to keep Real in the state.

"We are still optimistic that a permanent home will be found for professional soccer here in Utah."