Rocky wins OK to push Fairpark soccer stadium

(by Kersten Swinyard desnews.com 7-14-06)

The Salt Lake City Council has given Mayor Rocky Anderson their seven thumbs up to pursue a soccer stadium at the Utah State Fairpark.

Reminiscent of summer 2005, the council has endorsed a plan to pursue the Real Salt Lake soccer stadium at the Fairpark to show solidarity with Anderson's proposal.

"It's just important that the city speak with one voice," said Dave Buhler, council chairman. "There's enough other voices out there."

Anderson reproposed the Fairpark, resurrecting the site from discussions last year before the team chose Sandy. Now, other locations, such as 30 acres on the former Geneva Steel site in Utah County, could lure the team.

Real Salt Lake officials selected a site in Sandy last October and have purchased land and created plans for a hotel, restaurants and broadcast studios. Real owner Dave Checketts has said that he wants some public money to help build a soccer-specific stadium that the team can use when its lease at Rice-Eccles stadium expires after the 2007 season.

The team first asked the Salt Lake County Council for a loan of $35 million in hotel-tax money that would have cost $87.5 million over the life of the loan. Then, Sandy city proposed using $35 million in hotel-tax money and offered a different finance option that eventually would have cost the county $70.1 million. The County Council rejected both proposals.

Nancy Saxton, the councilwoman who represents downtown Salt Lake City, said downtown locations don't work for the team now that they have plans for adjacent development, but those ideas work well for the Fairpark.

"I think it's going to be right on a major light-rail transportation line, and it's great use of an underutilized parcel of land," Saxton said.

And, also like a year ago, Anderson, Buhler, Saxton and the rest of the council must now wait for Real to select a site.

"This is not necessarily an economic development decision at this point — it really is political," Saxton said. "The state's involved, other entities are involved — the county, and of course Salt Lake City. It will be an interesting kind of arm wrestle."