(by Brady Snyder desnews.com 5-28-05)
Penny-wise but pound-foolish — that's how downtown advocates describe Salt Lake City's shift concerning a new Major League Soccer stadium.
Instead of abandoning downtown because of expense and political headaches, city leaders should stick with the heart of Utah's capital, they say.
This past week the city revealed it had a new location for a potential Real Salt Lake soccer stadium. Instead of a downtown block at 600 South and Main the city put forth a cheaper proposed location — the Utah State Fairpark.
"They're so concerned about today's dollars they don't look at the future dollars," downtown real estate broker Vasilios Priskos said. "People get lost in today's dollars and don't look at the future value of a soccer stadium right in the core of downtown.
"We should do what's best for soccer, not what's the cheapest."
The soccer stadium joins other public projects that city leaders had proposed for downtown but couldn't put together because of the various difficulties associated with doing downtown developments — small spaces and high prices.
Notably, a planned 2002 Winter Olympic legacy plaza in downtown slipped to the University of Utah because of disagreements on space and cost.
But abandoning downtown projects because of upfront prices is not wise policy, say Priskos and downtown developer Bruce Bingham.
Instead of eyeing upfront costs, which would be cheaper at the Fairpark as opposed to downtown, Bingham and Priskos said city leaders should consider where the stadium would best thrive.
Bingham, whose Illinois-based Hamilton Partners is building an office tower on Main Street downtown, points to the success of the Delta Center as opposed to Franklin Covey Field, where the Salt Lake Stingers play triple-A baseball
Franklin Covey, which is roughly as far away from downtown as the Fairpark, has struggled to attract fans. The Stingers announced this week they've had a decade of sagging attendance figures since they opened in 1994.
Faced with those numbers, the Stingers — despite being in first place — said they were giving away free tickets to their next eight home games in an effort to boost interest.
At the same time, the Utah Jazz have continued to draw good crowds at the Delta Center, despite having the fourth-worst record in the National Basketball Association.
While the Jazz are a top-level team and the Stingers only triple-A, Bingham said a major difference in attendance is that one stadium is downtown and the other is on the outskirts. Adding to the joy of a Jazz game is the excitement of coming into the heart of the city.
The Stingers don't have that same draw.
"The Delta Center proves that downtown is the best venue," Bingham said. "All you have to do is look at the Stingers' stadium to prove that being downtown is better than being away from downtown."
At the Fairpark, like the Stingers' neighborhood near 1300 South and 300 West, there's nothing else to draw crowds or get them excited about coming to a ballgame.
"There's a greater expense to operating downtown, but there are greater benefits," Bingham said. "It's location, location, location. What do you have next to the fairgrounds? You've got the power plant."
Another drawback to the Fairpark, according to Bingham and Priskos, is that the site wouldn't spur economic development like a stadium downtown would.
Again they point to Franklin Covey as an example.
While downtown's Delta Center has been credited as the catalyst for developments that include The Gateway, there has been little auxiliary development surrounding Franklin Covey.
"If the soccer stadium goes out to the Fairpark it will be a soccer stadium and that's it," said Priskos, who owns Internet Properties. "I don't think there's enough critical mass out there or enough traffic to warrant additional retail."
On that point Tony Weller, president of the Downtown Merchants Association, agrees.
"If the soccer field is going to serve as a catalyst for other development, it's more likely to do that downtown," Weller said.
Weller, who owns Sam Weller's Zion Bookstore on Main Street, also agrees that a downtown stadium is an important investment. In downtown, the stadium would be surrounded by hotels and would likely gain many ticket sales from tourists.
At the Fairpark those tourist dollars would likely be lost.
"Tourists, the farther they have to travel to see the game, the fewer will choose to do so," he said. "You don't want your community spread too thinly. Whenever someone goes to another town they like a certain urban density. They like to be where things are going on, and it would be nice to have that in the background of a stadium."
Priskos maintains downtown soccer is not dead, despite Salt Lake City's Fairpark plan.
Real Salt Lake spokesman Trey Fitzgerald said RSL owner Dave Checketts continues to talk with downtown property owners like billionaire Earl Holding and The Boyer Co.
Holding owns the downtown land where the city initially wanted the stadium, while Boyer has had talks with RSL about putting the stadium on land west of the Gateway, said Jake Boyer, Gateway project manager.
RSL is considering proposals from Sandy and Murray in addition to Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson offered the Fairpark proposal after Sandy gained legs earlier this month with a plan to put the stadium near the South Town Expo Center.
Anderson did not respond to a request to comment on the Fairpark proposal. His office did provide a written proposal Anderson has presented to local politicians.
And while many insist downtown is the best place, other Salt Lake City residents say the Fairpark is a decent alternative and would be better than Sandy or Murray.
A Fairpark stadium provides more frequent use of the state-owned facility, which has struggled to find its place outside the 11 days of the annual state fair.
"Utilizing the facilities that we have already is an excellent idea," said Bill Plastow, chairman of People's Freeway Community Council, adding that local residents should be apprised of how the stadium would affect their neighborhood.
Thursday a group of about 25 members of the Fairpark Community Council gathered to discuss the stadium proposal.
"We're concerned about the parking situation," Fairpark Community Council Chair Vicky Orme said. Many area residents don't have off-street parking and can't find parking places when events are going on at the Fairpark, she said.
Going with the Fairpark comes down to price, said Tom Guinney, whose Gastronomy partnership owns several downtown restaurants. The city could cough up $10 million to $20 million to buy 10 acres downtown for a stadium or look to land that is already publicly owned at the Fairpark.
"It's because of the cost factor," he said. Moreover, Guinney said, if RSL goes under, the city won't be stuck with an unused stadium eyesore downtown if the Fairpark site is chosen.
It's expected that any proposal for a $60 million-plus, 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium would include about $30 million in private funding and another $30 million in public dollars, likely gained if voters approve a Salt Lake County-wide bond vote. Before that vote, however, county leaders have said they want to see RSL's attendance figures at its temporary Rice-Eccles Stadium location, where the University of Utah plays football.
RSL has a lease with the U. for this year and next and has an option for a third year. The team maintains it needs a smaller soccer stadium to create an atmosphere lacking at the cavernous Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Some, including the Utah Taxpayers Association, have opposed any public funding for a stadium and have rejected claims that sports stadiums are economic generators to be funded by taxpayers.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Sandy may poll residents on soccer stadium
(by Kersten Swinyard desnews.com 5-31-05)
SANDY — In a bid to become the home of professional soccer in Utah, the Sandy City Council has set aside money for a study of residents' opinions about chasing a stadium for Real Salt Lake.
The council voted Tuesday night to allot $5,000 for a survey of residents with questions specifically about the possibility of hosting the soccer stadium.
Sandy is in a heated competition with Murray and Salt Lake City for the stadium, which would cost millions of dollars but conceivably bring in much more than that to communities hungry for an economic boost.
City Council members voted to allocate the money without spending it until they know if they have a better chance of a successful proposal.
"I think that we ought to have this money available — ready to go — but that we not spend it until we have a better feel as to whether we are a preferred site," said Randy Sant, economic development director for the city. "We ought to be ready to go until it happens."
The council voted unanimously to follow Sant's advice. The $5,000 will be drawn from a contingency fund from the fiscal year that ends in June.
But the survey could show a lack of community support for the stadium. And if that happens?
"That would probably be a factor in the discussions," said Ryan Mecham, spokesman for the city. "It could show there is a lot of support for doing this, and it could show that a lot of people don't know about it."
Real Salt Lake, a Major League Soccer expansion franchise, wants to play in its own stadium beginning in spring 2007, said Trey Fitz-Gerald, spokesman for the team. The team now plays its home games at 45,000-seat Rice-Eccles Stadium, the same spot where the University of Utah football team competes.
Murray Mayor Dan Snarr said his city does not need a survey to know it is the best place to host the stadium. Snarr believes the stadium would fit best near 4500 South and I-15 because of the site's proximity to light rail and a future commuter rail line, its central valley location and an abundance of undeveloped land.
"I'm obviously going to pitch Murray because I think it's going to be most successful there," Snarr said. "I have 200 acres of prime land that is way underutilized and way underdeveloped. I can bring back that whole area to life and create a synergism that no one can for a lot less money than everybody else."
Initially, downtown Salt Lake City and Murray were the strongest contenders for the stadium. Then, Sandy offered $20 million for the stadium, money that had been set aside for a parking structure at its Expo Center that drastically strengthens Sandy's late-to-the-game bid for the stadium. That move angered Salt Lake City, which had contributed $8 million to the same fund from which Sandy drew its $20 million for the Salt Palace expansion and Expo Center parking structure.
Now, Salt Lake City is trying to revive its bid for the stadium, which it first wanted at 600 South and Main Street, with the possibility of putting the stadium at the Utah State Fairpark.
The team wants a smaller, soccer-specific stadium, but that could cost up to $60 million. The team wants free land and $30 million in public funding, which it had hoped to get through an as-yet unscheduled bond election.
"We know that wherever we go that's where we'll be for the next 35 years or so," Fitz-Gerald said. "A suburban stadium site means that we could build 20 training fields around it, which is something that we couldn't do in downtown Salt Lake City because of land costs and available space."
A Deseret Morning News poll in November — before Sandy expressed its interest in the stadium — showed 22 percent of respondents favored Murray for the stadium site, 15 percent preferred downtown Salt Lake City and 37 percent didn't know where they wanted the stadium. Eight percent wanted the stadium in West Valley City or Magna, and 4 percent wanted the stadium in the southern part of the Salt Lake Valley. Dan Jones and Associates polled 313 people from Nov. 29-30.
SANDY — In a bid to become the home of professional soccer in Utah, the Sandy City Council has set aside money for a study of residents' opinions about chasing a stadium for Real Salt Lake.
The council voted Tuesday night to allot $5,000 for a survey of residents with questions specifically about the possibility of hosting the soccer stadium.
Sandy is in a heated competition with Murray and Salt Lake City for the stadium, which would cost millions of dollars but conceivably bring in much more than that to communities hungry for an economic boost.
City Council members voted to allocate the money without spending it until they know if they have a better chance of a successful proposal.
"I think that we ought to have this money available — ready to go — but that we not spend it until we have a better feel as to whether we are a preferred site," said Randy Sant, economic development director for the city. "We ought to be ready to go until it happens."
The council voted unanimously to follow Sant's advice. The $5,000 will be drawn from a contingency fund from the fiscal year that ends in June.
But the survey could show a lack of community support for the stadium. And if that happens?
"That would probably be a factor in the discussions," said Ryan Mecham, spokesman for the city. "It could show there is a lot of support for doing this, and it could show that a lot of people don't know about it."
Real Salt Lake, a Major League Soccer expansion franchise, wants to play in its own stadium beginning in spring 2007, said Trey Fitz-Gerald, spokesman for the team. The team now plays its home games at 45,000-seat Rice-Eccles Stadium, the same spot where the University of Utah football team competes.
Murray Mayor Dan Snarr said his city does not need a survey to know it is the best place to host the stadium. Snarr believes the stadium would fit best near 4500 South and I-15 because of the site's proximity to light rail and a future commuter rail line, its central valley location and an abundance of undeveloped land.
"I'm obviously going to pitch Murray because I think it's going to be most successful there," Snarr said. "I have 200 acres of prime land that is way underutilized and way underdeveloped. I can bring back that whole area to life and create a synergism that no one can for a lot less money than everybody else."
Initially, downtown Salt Lake City and Murray were the strongest contenders for the stadium. Then, Sandy offered $20 million for the stadium, money that had been set aside for a parking structure at its Expo Center that drastically strengthens Sandy's late-to-the-game bid for the stadium. That move angered Salt Lake City, which had contributed $8 million to the same fund from which Sandy drew its $20 million for the Salt Palace expansion and Expo Center parking structure.
Now, Salt Lake City is trying to revive its bid for the stadium, which it first wanted at 600 South and Main Street, with the possibility of putting the stadium at the Utah State Fairpark.
The team wants a smaller, soccer-specific stadium, but that could cost up to $60 million. The team wants free land and $30 million in public funding, which it had hoped to get through an as-yet unscheduled bond election.
"We know that wherever we go that's where we'll be for the next 35 years or so," Fitz-Gerald said. "A suburban stadium site means that we could build 20 training fields around it, which is something that we couldn't do in downtown Salt Lake City because of land costs and available space."
A Deseret Morning News poll in November — before Sandy expressed its interest in the stadium — showed 22 percent of respondents favored Murray for the stadium site, 15 percent preferred downtown Salt Lake City and 37 percent didn't know where they wanted the stadium. Eight percent wanted the stadium in West Valley City or Magna, and 4 percent wanted the stadium in the southern part of the Salt Lake Valley. Dan Jones and Associates polled 313 people from Nov. 29-30.
S.L. Council backs Rocky on Fairpark stadium
(by Kersten Swinyard desnews.com 6-7-05)
The Salt Lake City Council officially agreed with Mayor Rocky Anderson about pitching the state Fairpark as a location for a future stadium for the Real Salt Lake soccer team.
The council voted for a resolution that puts it on the books as supporting the Fairpark, but the council expressly said that its support depends on securing future financing and resolving issues such as possible noise problems.
Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson has been campaigning intensely for Real Salt Lake to choose Salt Lake City as its soccer stadium site. Anderson had previously backed a stadium on Block 22 at the corner of 600 South and Main Street but has recently shifted focus to the Fairpark west of the city because it may be a more viable option than immediately downtown, he said.
Council member Dave Buhler said that the Fairpark did not come at the expense of the downtown site but that the Fairpark seemed more immediately viable.
"If there were a viable option more downtown, I'd be in favor of that, but I just don't see that in the cards right now," Buhler said.
The major league soccer team, which has a contract to play in the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles football stadium until it builds one of its own, has said that it wants to remain downtown if possible but is considering all options. Real Salt Lake wants to be playing in a new stadium by the beginning of the 2007 season, team spokesman Trey Fitz-Gerald said in an earlier interview, but it wants free land and for the public to shoulder $30 million of the expected $60 million price tag.
Earlier in the meeting, a preservation advocate asked the council to consider endorsing the Fairpark for the stadium but to keep in mind the historic buildings that would need safeguarding.
"We have a greater vision for the Fairpark," said Kirk Huffaker, assistant director of the Utah Heritage Foundation. "But there needs to be more use of the buildings in order for that vision to take place."
Salt Lake City is competing against Murray and Sandy to host the stadium. Anderson said that the tax benefits of the stadium — wherever it is built — would be relatively small for the coffers of the city that eventually wins it. The allure lies in the prestige of the stadium and the foot traffic it would bring to neighboring businesses.
"We already have the infrastructure in the downtown area — the hotels, the restaurants, the transit," Anderson said. "When you have all that and a soccer stadium, it helps benefit the entire area. We have enough sprawl throughout the Wasatch Front without scattering all these kinds of facilities. They work best if they are centrally located."
Murray has suggested that the best place for the stadium is near I-15 and 4500 South, near TRAX and a future commuter rail stop, just off the interstate and in the middle of an area that Mayor Dan Snarr would love to redevelop.
Sandy officials have been quiet about their exact location for a stadium. The city has said that it may use $20 million to construct a parking structure that would be used jointly by the existing Expo Center (roughly at 9400 South and State) and the proposed stadium.
But to share the structure, the stadium would have to be close to the Expo Center, which is surrounded by a high school to the south, Jordan Commons to the north, houses to the east and an office complex for BD Medical on the west. At the northwest corner, however, there is 20.6 acres of land for sale by the trustee of a family estate.
That trustee, who did not want to be named, wholeheartedly supported the soccer stadium in Sandy.
"I have young grandchildren who are growing up and they have a hard time finding places to play," the trustee said. "There's nothing else in the world I'd rather see than this. This is a beautiful piece of land. There's nothing I'd rather see go in here."
Ryan Mecham, Sandy's spokesman, said the city would not be responsible for purchasing land for the stadium — that would fall to Real Salt Lake or the Salt Lake County government. Mecham said no one in Sandy has spoken with the trustee about the 20.6 acres.
The Salt Lake City Council officially agreed with Mayor Rocky Anderson about pitching the state Fairpark as a location for a future stadium for the Real Salt Lake soccer team.
The council voted for a resolution that puts it on the books as supporting the Fairpark, but the council expressly said that its support depends on securing future financing and resolving issues such as possible noise problems.
Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson has been campaigning intensely for Real Salt Lake to choose Salt Lake City as its soccer stadium site. Anderson had previously backed a stadium on Block 22 at the corner of 600 South and Main Street but has recently shifted focus to the Fairpark west of the city because it may be a more viable option than immediately downtown, he said.
Council member Dave Buhler said that the Fairpark did not come at the expense of the downtown site but that the Fairpark seemed more immediately viable.
"If there were a viable option more downtown, I'd be in favor of that, but I just don't see that in the cards right now," Buhler said.
The major league soccer team, which has a contract to play in the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles football stadium until it builds one of its own, has said that it wants to remain downtown if possible but is considering all options. Real Salt Lake wants to be playing in a new stadium by the beginning of the 2007 season, team spokesman Trey Fitz-Gerald said in an earlier interview, but it wants free land and for the public to shoulder $30 million of the expected $60 million price tag.
Earlier in the meeting, a preservation advocate asked the council to consider endorsing the Fairpark for the stadium but to keep in mind the historic buildings that would need safeguarding.
"We have a greater vision for the Fairpark," said Kirk Huffaker, assistant director of the Utah Heritage Foundation. "But there needs to be more use of the buildings in order for that vision to take place."
Salt Lake City is competing against Murray and Sandy to host the stadium. Anderson said that the tax benefits of the stadium — wherever it is built — would be relatively small for the coffers of the city that eventually wins it. The allure lies in the prestige of the stadium and the foot traffic it would bring to neighboring businesses.
"We already have the infrastructure in the downtown area — the hotels, the restaurants, the transit," Anderson said. "When you have all that and a soccer stadium, it helps benefit the entire area. We have enough sprawl throughout the Wasatch Front without scattering all these kinds of facilities. They work best if they are centrally located."
Murray has suggested that the best place for the stadium is near I-15 and 4500 South, near TRAX and a future commuter rail stop, just off the interstate and in the middle of an area that Mayor Dan Snarr would love to redevelop.
Sandy officials have been quiet about their exact location for a stadium. The city has said that it may use $20 million to construct a parking structure that would be used jointly by the existing Expo Center (roughly at 9400 South and State) and the proposed stadium.
But to share the structure, the stadium would have to be close to the Expo Center, which is surrounded by a high school to the south, Jordan Commons to the north, houses to the east and an office complex for BD Medical on the west. At the northwest corner, however, there is 20.6 acres of land for sale by the trustee of a family estate.
That trustee, who did not want to be named, wholeheartedly supported the soccer stadium in Sandy.
"I have young grandchildren who are growing up and they have a hard time finding places to play," the trustee said. "There's nothing else in the world I'd rather see than this. This is a beautiful piece of land. There's nothing I'd rather see go in here."
Ryan Mecham, Sandy's spokesman, said the city would not be responsible for purchasing land for the stadium — that would fall to Real Salt Lake or the Salt Lake County government. Mecham said no one in Sandy has spoken with the trustee about the 20.6 acres.
A lesson on sports subsidies
(Deseret News editorial desnews.com (date unknown))
The Utah Grizzlies' decision this week to suspend play for a season while trying to sell their American Hockey League franchise and acquire one in a lesser league is instructive. It shows just how volatile minor professional sports are.
That should be a caution for the Wasatch Front cities that now are competing for the opportunity to spend public money constructing a stadium for Real Salt Lake. Unlike the Grizzlies, Real is a major league team, but soccer is a minor American sport. Just ask fans of the old North American Soccer League, the major league that folded in 1984 despite once being home to the international star, Pele, and despite impressive attendance figures only a few years before.
Public funding for any sort of sports arena is foolish, but for a sport as shaky as soccer is in the United States, it's a big risk. Two Major League Soccer franchises have folded in recent years.
Not long ago, hockey was being touted as an economic development generator worthy of public investment. During the E Center's formative months, West Valley City officials were almost teary-eyed with excitement. They built an arena that, when all the interest payments, land acquisition and debt is combined, will cost $87.6 million over 25 years. Part of that cost was to be paid by lease payments by the Grizzlies of $1.2 million per year.
At the time, hockey seemed like a sure thing here. The Winter Olympics were only a few years away and West Valley City had just secured a commitment from Olympic organizers to use the E Center as the men's hockey venue. The Wasatch Front was developing an international reputation as a winter sports capital.
True to expectations, the Olympics were a hit. The gold medal game between the United States and Canada put the E Center on the world stage and created one of the sport's most memorable moments. But three years later the enthusiasm for hockey has receded like the banks of the Great Salt Lake during a drought. The NHL missed an entire season due to labor troubles, which took away a lot of interest generally. At the same time, the Grizzlies fell into last place and attendance at the E Center dwindled well below what team officials once said they needed in order to break even.
Team owner David Elmore, who also manages the E Center, hopes a team in a lower-level league that is cheaper to operate can be profitable. That's hardly a vote of confidence for the health of hockey in an Olympic city.
West Valley City officials will still tout the E Center as an important tool for generating a surrounding cultural and retail center. Those are difficult claims to prove, however, considering public subsidies helped build other facilities there as well. Most likely, they have just shifted consumer spending to that part of town, at a tremendous cost to taxpayers.
But the E Center has proven itself capable of hosting concerts and fringe sporting events, such as ultimate fighting competitions. No doubt these are profitable and could make the center viable even without a hockey tenant. An outdoor soccer stadium isn't likely to have as many profitable alternative uses.
At the moment, Salt Lake City, Murray and Sandy are vying for the soccer stadium. Each is trying to devise creative ways to use public resources as a lure. They should learn from hockey. Professional sports offers no guarantees.
The Utah Grizzlies' decision this week to suspend play for a season while trying to sell their American Hockey League franchise and acquire one in a lesser league is instructive. It shows just how volatile minor professional sports are.
That should be a caution for the Wasatch Front cities that now are competing for the opportunity to spend public money constructing a stadium for Real Salt Lake. Unlike the Grizzlies, Real is a major league team, but soccer is a minor American sport. Just ask fans of the old North American Soccer League, the major league that folded in 1984 despite once being home to the international star, Pele, and despite impressive attendance figures only a few years before.
Public funding for any sort of sports arena is foolish, but for a sport as shaky as soccer is in the United States, it's a big risk. Two Major League Soccer franchises have folded in recent years.
Not long ago, hockey was being touted as an economic development generator worthy of public investment. During the E Center's formative months, West Valley City officials were almost teary-eyed with excitement. They built an arena that, when all the interest payments, land acquisition and debt is combined, will cost $87.6 million over 25 years. Part of that cost was to be paid by lease payments by the Grizzlies of $1.2 million per year.
At the time, hockey seemed like a sure thing here. The Winter Olympics were only a few years away and West Valley City had just secured a commitment from Olympic organizers to use the E Center as the men's hockey venue. The Wasatch Front was developing an international reputation as a winter sports capital.
True to expectations, the Olympics were a hit. The gold medal game between the United States and Canada put the E Center on the world stage and created one of the sport's most memorable moments. But three years later the enthusiasm for hockey has receded like the banks of the Great Salt Lake during a drought. The NHL missed an entire season due to labor troubles, which took away a lot of interest generally. At the same time, the Grizzlies fell into last place and attendance at the E Center dwindled well below what team officials once said they needed in order to break even.
Team owner David Elmore, who also manages the E Center, hopes a team in a lower-level league that is cheaper to operate can be profitable. That's hardly a vote of confidence for the health of hockey in an Olympic city.
West Valley City officials will still tout the E Center as an important tool for generating a surrounding cultural and retail center. Those are difficult claims to prove, however, considering public subsidies helped build other facilities there as well. Most likely, they have just shifted consumer spending to that part of town, at a tremendous cost to taxpayers.
But the E Center has proven itself capable of hosting concerts and fringe sporting events, such as ultimate fighting competitions. No doubt these are profitable and could make the center viable even without a hockey tenant. An outdoor soccer stadium isn't likely to have as many profitable alternative uses.
At the moment, Salt Lake City, Murray and Sandy are vying for the soccer stadium. Each is trying to devise creative ways to use public resources as a lure. They should learn from hockey. Professional sports offers no guarantees.
Why not just let RSL keep playing at U.?
(by Erin Stewart desnews.com 7-9-05)
As the battle to land a major league soccer stadium rolls on, several county leaders are now offering a more taxpayer-friendly solution: just keep the team where it is.
The Real Salt Lake players have been temporarily competing in the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles stadium as leaders search for a more permanent and independent home.
But Salt Lake County Council member Jenny Wilson said Real Salt Lake should at least consider staying at the university field and avoid a $30 million bond to build a new stadium. Alternatives offered by Murray, Sandy and Salt Lake City would all require some type of taxpayer funding for the $60 million arena.
"What I don't want is another underutilized facility. That is a cost to me as a taxpayer at every level of taxation," Wilson said.
She met this past week with Real Salt Lake leaders and Mayor Peter Corroon, who said he's not sold yet on any plan for the stadium but does want the team to keep an open mind on staying put.
But both Corroon and Wilson admit there are several major obstacles to moving soccer into Rice-Eccles permanently. One of the biggest roadblocks is how to physically modify the stadium to accommodate both soccer and football.
The football team, for example, uses a turf surface, while the soccer team plays on natural grass. Swapping out the field may be possible, Wilson said, but difficult because the soccer game schedule overlaps into the beginning of the fall football practice season.
Another practical consideration, Wilson added, is that the sight lines for soccer are wider and require lower surrounding walls than football.
"If you really work through these issues one by one, some of them are bricks and mortar costly," Wilson said. "But some of them are how the university generates revenue versus an independent soccer stadium for Real."
But Real spokesman Trey Fitz-Gerald said Rice-Eccles cannot be a permanent home for the team.
"The business model is entirely wrong for us," he said.
The university, which owns the stadium, takes 90 percent of the concession sales and 27 percent of merchandise. Moreover, Fitz-Gerald said the locker rooms are antiquated and the soccer team wouldn't have control of marketing the stadium or offering sponsorship advertising there.
One of the biggest funding draws for a new stadium, for example, is selling the naming rights.
"We need a building where we are the landlord," Fitz-Gerald said.
As an incentive to stay at Rice-Eccles, Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, is already suggesting a legislative measure to allow beer sales at soccer games. Team owner Dave Checketts hasn't decided about beer sales yet, Fitz-Gerald said, and the team wants to maintain a family-friendly environment at Real games.
"We are a family product," he said.
Mike Jerman, vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, said he hopes Real Salt Lake leaders at least look at the proposal to keep the team at the existing stadium because it is the only way to avoid asking taxpayers to foot the bill for the private stadium.
"The taxpayer has no obligation to fork over money so Real Salt Lake can control the experience," Jerman said. "If that's so critical, then Real Salt Lake should go it alone."
As the battle to land a major league soccer stadium rolls on, several county leaders are now offering a more taxpayer-friendly solution: just keep the team where it is.
The Real Salt Lake players have been temporarily competing in the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles stadium as leaders search for a more permanent and independent home.
But Salt Lake County Council member Jenny Wilson said Real Salt Lake should at least consider staying at the university field and avoid a $30 million bond to build a new stadium. Alternatives offered by Murray, Sandy and Salt Lake City would all require some type of taxpayer funding for the $60 million arena.
"What I don't want is another underutilized facility. That is a cost to me as a taxpayer at every level of taxation," Wilson said.
She met this past week with Real Salt Lake leaders and Mayor Peter Corroon, who said he's not sold yet on any plan for the stadium but does want the team to keep an open mind on staying put.
But both Corroon and Wilson admit there are several major obstacles to moving soccer into Rice-Eccles permanently. One of the biggest roadblocks is how to physically modify the stadium to accommodate both soccer and football.
The football team, for example, uses a turf surface, while the soccer team plays on natural grass. Swapping out the field may be possible, Wilson said, but difficult because the soccer game schedule overlaps into the beginning of the fall football practice season.
Another practical consideration, Wilson added, is that the sight lines for soccer are wider and require lower surrounding walls than football.
"If you really work through these issues one by one, some of them are bricks and mortar costly," Wilson said. "But some of them are how the university generates revenue versus an independent soccer stadium for Real."
But Real spokesman Trey Fitz-Gerald said Rice-Eccles cannot be a permanent home for the team.
"The business model is entirely wrong for us," he said.
The university, which owns the stadium, takes 90 percent of the concession sales and 27 percent of merchandise. Moreover, Fitz-Gerald said the locker rooms are antiquated and the soccer team wouldn't have control of marketing the stadium or offering sponsorship advertising there.
One of the biggest funding draws for a new stadium, for example, is selling the naming rights.
"We need a building where we are the landlord," Fitz-Gerald said.
As an incentive to stay at Rice-Eccles, Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, is already suggesting a legislative measure to allow beer sales at soccer games. Team owner Dave Checketts hasn't decided about beer sales yet, Fitz-Gerald said, and the team wants to maintain a family-friendly environment at Real games.
"We are a family product," he said.
Mike Jerman, vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, said he hopes Real Salt Lake leaders at least look at the proposal to keep the team at the existing stadium because it is the only way to avoid asking taxpayers to foot the bill for the private stadium.
"The taxpayer has no obligation to fork over money so Real Salt Lake can control the experience," Jerman said. "If that's so critical, then Real Salt Lake should go it alone."
A fairpark stadium finds favor on Hill
(by Brandy Snyder desnews.com 7-21-05)
Rural legislators who have significant power in Utah politics and share a keen interest in the Utah State Fairpark seem warm to the idea of putting a Major League Soccer stadium on the grounds.
But on the larger issue of whether the state should kick in tax dollars to help build the stadium, those same lawmakers are ice cold.
Richard Frenette, executive director of the state Fairpark, offered a soccer stadium briefing Wednesday to the rurally influenced Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee.
Rep. Brad Johnson, R-Aurora, told Frenette that there was a rumor going around that rural lawmakers didn't support the idea. In fact, Johnson said, rural lawmakers, himself included, are keen to it.
"I can see a lot of advantage for the fair to have the soccer stadium there," he said. "As I've talked to other rural legislators we think this is nothing but help."
The plan, Frenette said, is for the state to offer 10-12 acres of Fairpark land where the stadium could be built. The stadium would then be constructed and operated by Real Salt Lake, which has said it will use the stadium as a year-round venue attracting events beyond just soccer.
The state, in turn, would control the stadium parking, which would be on the Fairpark, and split the revenues with the soccer team. Those extra parking revenues would help reduce the taxpayer subsidies that contribute to maintaining the Fairpark and thus make the grounds more sustainable, Frenette said.
A similarly structured deal with the Columbus Crew helped rescue Ohio's struggling Fairpark, which Frenette formally headed.
Most, if not all, the committee members liked the idea, especially if it would help generate more revenue for the Fairpark, which some have described as a "financial drain."
But when asked if they would support putting state tax dollars into the stadium, none said yes.
"I personally think an event center of that magnitude can be self-sustaining" and "taxpayers wouldn't have to pay for it," committee chairman Roger Barrus, R-Centerville, said.
The lawmakers said they don't buy the notion that the stadium will generate new economic revenue and maintain the state has higher funding priorities than a stadium.
Real Salt Lake has consistently said it will contribute $30 million toward a roughly $60 million stadium and wants public tax dollars to make up the difference.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said earlier this year that he will work with a "coalition of the willing" to help make the soccer stadium happen but stopped short of saying whether state tax dollars should help build the arena. Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson later proposed the Fairpark option as a way to bring state participation to the table after his attempts to locate a stadium site downtown failed.
But if the Legislature is unwilling to help, Real is likely is back to its original option of asking the Salt Lake County Council to put a $30 million bond vote on the countywide ballot and let voters decide if they will support a tax increase to pay for the stadium.
But like the Legislature, most, if not all, county council members are cold to a bond and a few have floated the idea that Real should stay at its interim home, the University of Utah's Rice Eccles Stadium.
Real officials have balked at staying at Rice-Eccles beyond their current three-year lease. Team leaders maintain they need to be able to program their own stadium and sell advertising there in order to be profitable.
Rep. David Ure, R-Kamas, said he thought it was premature to be discussing the Fairpark option since Real hasn't decided where it will seek to put the stadium and because the team has yet to secure funding.
"I was surprised to see it here today," Ure said. "I think it's premature."
Ure added that "I support soccer, by the way" but noted "it's a private organization" that should build its stadium with private funds.
Sandy and Murray also have pitched potential stadium sites and Real has yet to decide where it will look to build.
Rural legislators who have significant power in Utah politics and share a keen interest in the Utah State Fairpark seem warm to the idea of putting a Major League Soccer stadium on the grounds.
But on the larger issue of whether the state should kick in tax dollars to help build the stadium, those same lawmakers are ice cold.
Richard Frenette, executive director of the state Fairpark, offered a soccer stadium briefing Wednesday to the rurally influenced Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee.
Rep. Brad Johnson, R-Aurora, told Frenette that there was a rumor going around that rural lawmakers didn't support the idea. In fact, Johnson said, rural lawmakers, himself included, are keen to it.
"I can see a lot of advantage for the fair to have the soccer stadium there," he said. "As I've talked to other rural legislators we think this is nothing but help."
The plan, Frenette said, is for the state to offer 10-12 acres of Fairpark land where the stadium could be built. The stadium would then be constructed and operated by Real Salt Lake, which has said it will use the stadium as a year-round venue attracting events beyond just soccer.
The state, in turn, would control the stadium parking, which would be on the Fairpark, and split the revenues with the soccer team. Those extra parking revenues would help reduce the taxpayer subsidies that contribute to maintaining the Fairpark and thus make the grounds more sustainable, Frenette said.
A similarly structured deal with the Columbus Crew helped rescue Ohio's struggling Fairpark, which Frenette formally headed.
Most, if not all, the committee members liked the idea, especially if it would help generate more revenue for the Fairpark, which some have described as a "financial drain."
But when asked if they would support putting state tax dollars into the stadium, none said yes.
"I personally think an event center of that magnitude can be self-sustaining" and "taxpayers wouldn't have to pay for it," committee chairman Roger Barrus, R-Centerville, said.
The lawmakers said they don't buy the notion that the stadium will generate new economic revenue and maintain the state has higher funding priorities than a stadium.
Real Salt Lake has consistently said it will contribute $30 million toward a roughly $60 million stadium and wants public tax dollars to make up the difference.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said earlier this year that he will work with a "coalition of the willing" to help make the soccer stadium happen but stopped short of saying whether state tax dollars should help build the arena. Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson later proposed the Fairpark option as a way to bring state participation to the table after his attempts to locate a stadium site downtown failed.
But if the Legislature is unwilling to help, Real is likely is back to its original option of asking the Salt Lake County Council to put a $30 million bond vote on the countywide ballot and let voters decide if they will support a tax increase to pay for the stadium.
But like the Legislature, most, if not all, county council members are cold to a bond and a few have floated the idea that Real should stay at its interim home, the University of Utah's Rice Eccles Stadium.
Real officials have balked at staying at Rice-Eccles beyond their current three-year lease. Team leaders maintain they need to be able to program their own stadium and sell advertising there in order to be profitable.
Rep. David Ure, R-Kamas, said he thought it was premature to be discussing the Fairpark option since Real hasn't decided where it will seek to put the stadium and because the team has yet to secure funding.
"I was surprised to see it here today," Ure said. "I think it's premature."
Ure added that "I support soccer, by the way" but noted "it's a private organization" that should build its stadium with private funds.
Sandy and Murray also have pitched potential stadium sites and Real has yet to decide where it will look to build.
'The Hut' shows future of soccer venues
(by James Edwards desnews.com 9-19-05)
FRISCO, Texas — The locker rooms are in mobile trailers, the press box looks like a construction zone, and you can see the steel skeletons of the adjacent office buildings.
Make no mistake about it, Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, is definitely still a work in progress, but for a soccer fan, it's a beautiful site. Who cares if you still need a hard hat in some areas. This 21,193-seat stadium and the surrounding 17 championship-quality fields represents the growth of soccer in America, and in a state dominated by the other football.
The pitch is pristine, there isn't a bad seat in the house, there's ample concessions, restrooms and parking, and the Hut contains two huge video boards near the north endline.
When it's all said and done, the $80 million price-tag will provide one of the fastest-growing midsize towns in America a consistent source of revenue. The cost will be split among the Hunt Sports Group, the city of Frisco, Collin County and the Frisco Independent School District. The fact the four independent entities came together with a common vision is a minor miracle in and of itself.
The 26 luxury suites at Pizza Hut Park are all sold out, and at a cost of $35,000 per season, they provide the team nearly $1 million in revenue, over half the team's salary cap.
When Pizza Hut Park opened for business two months ago — perhaps prematurely — it became the third soccer-specific stadium in Major League Soccer.
The Columbus Crew laid the foundation in 1999 with the completion of the $35 million, fringe-less Crew Stadium. The team didn't spend millions of extra dollars on extravagant amenities, because quite frankly, the idea of simply building a soccer specific stadium in the United States still seemed like a risky endeavor.
When Crew Stadium opened, not only did attendance increase, but over the years Columbus has been host to key World Cup qualifiers for the U.S. National Team.
Four years later when the Home Depot Center opened in Carson, Calif. at a cost of $150 million, money was thrown around like it often is in Southern California. The complex includes a 27,000-seat soccer stadium, a 13,000-seat tennis stadium, a 20,000-seat track and field stadium in addition to several surrounding soccer field and tennis courts.
The crown jewel is definitely the soccer stadium, and it's largely because of the overhanging Teflon roof. Not only does it provide shade for the fans, but it helps crowd noise bounce around the stadium in a way that it feels like the stadium holds 72,000 fans instead of 27,000 fans.
Everything from the stadium club restaurant, to the locker rooms, to the luxury suites gives the Home Depot Center a world-class stadium feel.
The Chicago Fire are in the midst of construction on a 20,000-seat soccer-specific stadium in Bridgeview, and hope to begin play there in 2006. The MetroStars recently finalized a deal that will get them out of the cavernous Giants Stadium, and into a 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium in Harrison, N.J. by 2007.
While these stadiums all have their own aesthetic charm, they've also helped future clubs like Real Salt Lake get a better idea about what works and doesn't work when building a stadium.
Years from now, when Real Salt Lake finally starts playing games in its own soccer specific stadium — whether it's in Sandy, Murray or downtown Salt lake City — the team would be lucky to call a stadium like Pizza Hut Park home.
FRISCO, Texas — The locker rooms are in mobile trailers, the press box looks like a construction zone, and you can see the steel skeletons of the adjacent office buildings.
Make no mistake about it, Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, is definitely still a work in progress, but for a soccer fan, it's a beautiful site. Who cares if you still need a hard hat in some areas. This 21,193-seat stadium and the surrounding 17 championship-quality fields represents the growth of soccer in America, and in a state dominated by the other football.
The pitch is pristine, there isn't a bad seat in the house, there's ample concessions, restrooms and parking, and the Hut contains two huge video boards near the north endline.
When it's all said and done, the $80 million price-tag will provide one of the fastest-growing midsize towns in America a consistent source of revenue. The cost will be split among the Hunt Sports Group, the city of Frisco, Collin County and the Frisco Independent School District. The fact the four independent entities came together with a common vision is a minor miracle in and of itself.
The 26 luxury suites at Pizza Hut Park are all sold out, and at a cost of $35,000 per season, they provide the team nearly $1 million in revenue, over half the team's salary cap.
When Pizza Hut Park opened for business two months ago — perhaps prematurely — it became the third soccer-specific stadium in Major League Soccer.
The Columbus Crew laid the foundation in 1999 with the completion of the $35 million, fringe-less Crew Stadium. The team didn't spend millions of extra dollars on extravagant amenities, because quite frankly, the idea of simply building a soccer specific stadium in the United States still seemed like a risky endeavor.
When Crew Stadium opened, not only did attendance increase, but over the years Columbus has been host to key World Cup qualifiers for the U.S. National Team.
Four years later when the Home Depot Center opened in Carson, Calif. at a cost of $150 million, money was thrown around like it often is in Southern California. The complex includes a 27,000-seat soccer stadium, a 13,000-seat tennis stadium, a 20,000-seat track and field stadium in addition to several surrounding soccer field and tennis courts.
The crown jewel is definitely the soccer stadium, and it's largely because of the overhanging Teflon roof. Not only does it provide shade for the fans, but it helps crowd noise bounce around the stadium in a way that it feels like the stadium holds 72,000 fans instead of 27,000 fans.
Everything from the stadium club restaurant, to the locker rooms, to the luxury suites gives the Home Depot Center a world-class stadium feel.
The Chicago Fire are in the midst of construction on a 20,000-seat soccer-specific stadium in Bridgeview, and hope to begin play there in 2006. The MetroStars recently finalized a deal that will get them out of the cavernous Giants Stadium, and into a 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium in Harrison, N.J. by 2007.
While these stadiums all have their own aesthetic charm, they've also helped future clubs like Real Salt Lake get a better idea about what works and doesn't work when building a stadium.
Years from now, when Real Salt Lake finally starts playing games in its own soccer specific stadium — whether it's in Sandy, Murray or downtown Salt lake City — the team would be lucky to call a stadium like Pizza Hut Park home.
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