Salt Lake Follies

More on the saga of Real Salt Lake:

On the third day, it was risen.

A bill emerged Thursday on Utah's Capitol Hill that could bring a Real Salt Lake stadium to Sandy and salvage Utah's two-year-old soccer franchise, which is being aggressively courted by investors in St. Louis.

If the measure passes - it was crafted behind closed doors this week with the blessing of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson and legislative leadership - it would snatch at least $20 million for the project out of Salt Lake County coffers, which critics allege could result in a countywide property-tax hike.

The move to revive a stadium in Sandy spells the end of talk to relocate RSL to the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City or the former Geneva Steel site in central Utah County.

Late Thursday, RSL released a statement saying the Geneva location, owned by Anderson Development, is "not a viable option for our team or the stadium project."
"We are no longer entertaining this offer," the team said. "Our discussions are now concluded."

So the latest stadium score card: Sandy or St. Louis. And RSL is mum on which spot it prefers.

Jeff Cooper, the St. Louis-based attorney negotiating with RSL to buy the team, is convinced a move to the Midwest is likely.

"I'm very excited for the folks in St. Louis because I do think it's
going to happen," he said. "I am very sorry for the fans in Salt Lake City. We went through the same thing in football with the Cardinals, when they went to Arizona, and it's just a horrible thing."

This article is full of peaks and valleys for any Real fans reading it. "Hey the stadium in Sandy might be back! Hooray! They might still pack up and go to St. Louis. Boo!"

As usual there are plenty of folks ticked off about the shuffling around of tax money, and I wonder if Checketts will agree that the proposal in the state house is a good deal.

Under this plan - just like the former one - the capital would get $7.5 million for youth fields along with an elite soccer academy in northwest Salt Lake City.

OK, so it is $20 million, and it begins this year instead of 2011. But, of the 20 million, $7.5 of it is going for an academy and youth soccer fields. Obviously it is quite a bit less than what had been proposed before. And now, like it or not, you are in a bidding war.

The consensus seems to be we will know by the middle of next week.

Comments

Anonymous said…

My friend, you're in way over your head.

Let me make this crystal clear for you and your reader(s):

Real St. Louis is NOT going to happen.

It's been fun watching you make incorrect declarations to the contrary, however. Good luck getting an expansion side.

-FM

February 4, 2007 at 10:16 AM

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