Rocky tries to lure Real

(by Kersten Swinyard and Leigh Dethman desnews.com 6-22-06)

Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson is asking for Real Salt Lake to take another look at the city's Fairpark for a soccer stadium.

In a proposal released Wednesday, Anderson called for Real to move to the state fairgrounds on North Temple and 1000 West. The carrots he dangled for the team included a share of the city's property taxes, a proposed portion of hotel taxes from Salt Lake County coffers and a ready fan base within walking distance of the site.

"This proposal offers tremendous benefits to all, including the state of Utah and the Utah State Fairpark, Salt Lake County, Real Salt Lake and, most importantly, to residents of the state of Utah," Anderson wrote in a letter to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon and Real owner Dave Checketts.

Anderson pitched the Fairpark for the stadium's site a year ago, before Real decided to put it on 20 acres in Sandy. This revisitation comes after the team had trouble persuading county leaders to kick in millions of dollars that wouldn't be repaid for decades.

Real wanted the county to bond for $35 million of hotel-tax money, but the interest payments on the loan were high enough that county Mayor Peter Corroon said in May that he couldn't support it. The county would have paid $87.5 million over the life of the loan.

If Checketts is true to his word, the team's stadium will be built in Sandy. At a press conference days after Corroon denied the team's first funding plan, Checketts said he is "on the hook" for the land that the team has already purchased in Sandy.

Real Salt Lake spokesman Tom Love declined to comment late Wednesday on Anderson's proposal, and Real CEO Dean Howes did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Anderson wants the county to offer up to $17.5 million in transient-room taxes, which are collected from hotels in Salt Lake County. That money, which is half of Real's first request, along with property taxes from a community-development agency, would go into improving facilities at the Fairpark.

"In return, Real will contribute to the maintenance and upkeep of the Fairpark; make the facilities, including the stadium, available for the State Fair every year; and repay the (hotel tax) funds over 17 1/2 years, either in cash or through in-kind tourism-promotion services," Anderson wrote.

He called for the creation of an "independent, non-partisan community task force" to meet July 8 to discuss his proposal.

Whether Anderson's plan works or not is still up for debate, Corroon said, as he has yet to see specific details.

Sandy officials, who will meet Tuesday with the Salt Lake County Council about stadium-funding plans, are putting the final touches on their own proposal that involves a combination of city and county property taxes. Sandy has not released its funding plan, but in the past, the team has not discussed repaying the hotel-tax money.

"Now there is another proposal on the table, but until Real and the state show interest, we're still on the sidelines," Corroon said Wednesday. "We're certainly interested in looking at the details."

Dolan, meanwhile, scoffed at Anderson's idea.

"Mayor Anderson has spent too much time out of town," Dolan said. "They've already chosen Sandy as their site and purchased the land. I don't know how much clearer they can make it."

But Anderson's proposal sounds pretty good to the Salt Lake City councilman Carlton Christensen, who represents the district that includes the Fairpark.

"I think there's some cost challenges that come with the Sandy proposal that maybe can be avoided with this proposal," Christensen said.

Rick Frenette, Utah State Fair executive director, said that the site is set up for major events already.

"We have a place that's a destination already," Frenette said. "If the stadium didn't happen there, the Utah State Fair will continue to thrive. But if it's something where we can all work together and it's beneficial to everybody, then we're there to be a team player."