(by Kersten Swinyard desnews.com 10-10-05)
Major League Soccer team Real Salt Lake appears to have decided to build its stadium in Sandy, one of three cities vying for the 20,000- to 25,000-seat venue.
Two people familiar with negotiations but who did not want to be identified said Monday that Real Salt Lake will build the stadium on approximately 20 acres at the northwest corner of the 9400 South and State Street intersection.
Team spokesman Trey Fitz-Gerald would neither confirm nor deny that the stadium is going to be in Sandy. The stadium site, for which Salt Lake and Murray also have vied, will be announced at a news conference scheduled Wednesday at 3 p.m., Fitz-Gerald said.
"There are plenty of meetings — meetings upon meetings — in the next, probably, 48 hours between now and Wednesday's announcement that are going to determine a large number of the details that everybody's looking for," Fitz-Gerald said Monday afternoon.
Among those details is the matter of paying for the stadium, which Fitz-Gerald estimated will cost $60 million. The team said previously it wanted to split the cost of the stadium between public and private money, but it is unknown what portion of the proposed $60 million price tag would fall on taxpayers.
"That's one of the many issues that we're working through," Fitz-Gerald said.
Salt Lake City and Murray had long competed for the stadium, but Sandy began its campaign after offering use of a $20 million parking garage to be shared by the South Towne Exposition Center and the stadium. In April, the Legislature gave Salt Lake County $20 million for the structure as part of an $82 million bond for expanding the Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake City had contributed $8 million to the $82 million expansion bond, and City Council members said Sandy should not use the parking garage as a selling point for the stadium because Sandy did not contribute to the bond.
Salt Lake County still has the money for the parking garage, but there are no detailed plans for it yet, Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan said.
Bonnie Miller, who owns the property at 9400 South and State Street and serves as a trustee for her family's estate, said her land is under contract. However, the real estate agent involved, Dan Simons Jr., refused to name the entity purchasing the property. Sandy is not buying it, Dolan said.
Greg Curtis, speaker of the state House of Representatives and a Republican from Sandy who co-sponsored the bond legislation, thinks the answer for finding $60 million for the stadium could lie in legislation specifically for the stadium area. Curtis and Nick Duerksen, assistant director for Sandy community development, both mentioned that a model could be an enterprise zone in Phoenix that allowed tax benefits for businesses within the zone to jump-start job creation.
Part of the appeal of a Real Salt Lake stadium, however, is that the team is bringing jobs with it already, Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan said. Some of those jobs will be through another of owner David Checketts' projects, the College Sports Network, which is contracted to start broadcasting Mountain West Conference college games. Dolan said the network likely would relocate to office space near the stadium.
"The College Sports Network (is) the reason that I became interested in this to start with," Dolan said. "The discussions were about bringing this network and their jobs to our community — high-paying jobs to hire people locally to staff this television station."
Dolan also wanted the stadium for other events — lacrosse, rugby, games from other soccer leagues and junior league tournaments. The stadium "wasn't just about soccer," he said. It was "not just a stadium and the soccer team, (but also) all these other things."
Meanwhile, Murray has found buyers for the property it proposed for the stadium in the Fireclay district near 4500 South and Main Street. Mayor Dan Snarr said Sandy getting the stadium wouldn't surprise him. "I pretty well figured that out," he said, but wished Dolan good luck. Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson did not return a phone call seeking comment. But City Councilman Carlton Christensen, whose district includes another proposed stadium site — the State Fairpark at North Temple and 1000 West — said he is disappointed Real Salt Lake appears to have chosen Sandy.
"Since they're investing their own money as well, it's pretty hard to tell them where to go," Christensen said. "I think it would have been a win-win for both the Fairpark and for them, (but) the price tag was really getting up there."
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Don't cry for me, Salt Lake City: Real Salt Lake just shot itself in the foot by moving to Sandy
(by Jeremy Millsap dailyutahchronicle 10-25-05)
Well, it's official-our fair city lost the bid on the stadium for the soccer team that bears our name. The old Sandy mayor, Tom Dolan, now gets to move the mammoth stadium down into his neck of the woods.
So what if the $8 million Salt Lake City gave to Sandy to build a parking garage for the South Towne Expo Center goes to pay for the land on which the Sandy stadium will be built instead?
So what if we let Real Salt Lake use our football stadium? So what if RSL spent all season complaining that not enough people go to its stupid games, even though it lost 22 out of 32 this year?
So what if now, after all we did for RSL, it decides to stab us in the back and build the $75 million shopping, housing and soccer center in the place that will probably hurt Salt Lake commerce the most?
RSL has the nerve to skip town and head to Utah's suburban wasteland? Yes, but in the end, the team is destroying itself. It left an urban district with facilities, venues and easy commuter access for...well, 9400 South.
There is not much chance of the game catching on outside of Salt Lake City. The RSL management even acknowledges that the majority of its fan base is in the north end of the valley.
Had it been an actual football stadium that was going to be built, the farther south the better! They love that Americana stuff in suburban, any-town USA. Hey, if RSL officials let them bring in their hunting rifles, they might actually stand a chance of filling the 25,000-seat stadium.
But the fact remains: RSL is, unfortunately, a soccer team, which pretty much guarantees its demise in Sandy.
I was born and raised in Sandy, and I still love the place. But why does the Sandy City Council think this stadium is worth the $18 million financial strain on the city's taxpayers? My theory is that the city council bid for the stadium out of spite.
Tom Dolan's and his political allies' administration wants to do whatever it can to hurt Rocky Anderson's reputation-even if that means taking away something that we, in the north, genuinely enjoyed, just to make us feel bad. The behavior of taking a favorite toy from another child just because he or she has it is generally seen in infants and kindergarteners and is not usually expected of the mayor of a major city.
Sandy's economy is based upon residential districts and property values. How will a loud, noisy, violent stadium, complete with excessive drinking, help it?
If the stadium goes under-and I have a sneaking suspicion it will-no one will benefit. We are just going to lose out on a really cool opportunity to have something that we, as Utahns, can call our own.
Until then, try saying, "Go Real Sandy!" with a straight face.
Well, it's official-our fair city lost the bid on the stadium for the soccer team that bears our name. The old Sandy mayor, Tom Dolan, now gets to move the mammoth stadium down into his neck of the woods.
So what if the $8 million Salt Lake City gave to Sandy to build a parking garage for the South Towne Expo Center goes to pay for the land on which the Sandy stadium will be built instead?
So what if we let Real Salt Lake use our football stadium? So what if RSL spent all season complaining that not enough people go to its stupid games, even though it lost 22 out of 32 this year?
So what if now, after all we did for RSL, it decides to stab us in the back and build the $75 million shopping, housing and soccer center in the place that will probably hurt Salt Lake commerce the most?
RSL has the nerve to skip town and head to Utah's suburban wasteland? Yes, but in the end, the team is destroying itself. It left an urban district with facilities, venues and easy commuter access for...well, 9400 South.
There is not much chance of the game catching on outside of Salt Lake City. The RSL management even acknowledges that the majority of its fan base is in the north end of the valley.
Had it been an actual football stadium that was going to be built, the farther south the better! They love that Americana stuff in suburban, any-town USA. Hey, if RSL officials let them bring in their hunting rifles, they might actually stand a chance of filling the 25,000-seat stadium.
But the fact remains: RSL is, unfortunately, a soccer team, which pretty much guarantees its demise in Sandy.
I was born and raised in Sandy, and I still love the place. But why does the Sandy City Council think this stadium is worth the $18 million financial strain on the city's taxpayers? My theory is that the city council bid for the stadium out of spite.
Tom Dolan's and his political allies' administration wants to do whatever it can to hurt Rocky Anderson's reputation-even if that means taking away something that we, in the north, genuinely enjoyed, just to make us feel bad. The behavior of taking a favorite toy from another child just because he or she has it is generally seen in infants and kindergarteners and is not usually expected of the mayor of a major city.
Sandy's economy is based upon residential districts and property values. How will a loud, noisy, violent stadium, complete with excessive drinking, help it?
If the stadium goes under-and I have a sneaking suspicion it will-no one will benefit. We are just going to lose out on a really cool opportunity to have something that we, as Utahns, can call our own.
Until then, try saying, "Go Real Sandy!" with a straight face.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
RSL uniforms, 2009 (MLS Cup year)
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| Clint Mathis in 2009 home colors |
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| Beckerman in 2009 road white |
Could this be considered our official 3rd uniform? This uniform combination was used for a home game against Chivas in August. Although I don't believe it was the first time this combination has been used, I tend to remember seeing it used once or twice before back in 2006 or 2007.
RSL uniforms, 2008 (the green kit)
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| Robbie Russell in 2008 home colors |
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| Javier Morales |
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| 2008 road white |
The green RSL uniform was worn just once, for the US Open Cup game against the San Jose Earthquakes on April 30th as part of a "Green Awareness Game".
RSL uniforms, 2006 (new crest)
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| 2006 home colors vs Real Madrid |
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| 2006 home colors |
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| 2006 road white |
RSL wore their training uniforms for the US Open Cup match against the Virginia Beach Mariners making it the first time RSL had worn something different than their traditional home and away uniforms.
RSL uniforms, 2005 (first year)
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| The Godfather |
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| 2005 home colors |
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| DJ Countess and the boys in Los Angeles |
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| Andy Williams in the rain in NYC |
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| 2005 road white |
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