Rocky's RSL plan for Fairpark getting some GOP support

Many downtown advocates have lamented that fact that the city abandoned the downtown site, which they say would be a better spot for RSL in the long run.

Anderson said the site, on Block 22 near 600 South and Main, was too expensive. Advocates, however, maintain the city shouldn't look at the upfront costs but consider at the long term and invest in downtown. Many downtown leaders say if the RSL is going to succeed, it must have a downtown stadium, which will draw more fans.

RSL spokesman Trey Fitzgerald said the team is still considering downtown sites. However, Anderson said the team feels like politics are now driving stadium locations and will be stuck with whatever site can generate the most political momentum.

A downtown site would be best, Anderson agreed, but political and financial realities suggest that proposal doesn't have legs.

Some City Council members may disagree, though. Tuesday, the council plans to consider a resolution in support of the Fairpark site. Vice Chairwoman Nancy Saxton said the council probably won't pass the resolution unless all council members sign off, and there are at least two council members who are ambivalent to the Fairpark plan and instead favor downtown.

"There are a couple of people who feel strongly that if soccer was going to come to Salt Lake City, it should be downtown," Saxton said.

Salt Lake Chamber President Lane Beattie noted the chamber has backed the downtown site but said it will consider the economics of the Fairpark as well.

Like Anderson, County Mayor Peter Corroon agreed that a downtown site seems doomed.

"It just doesn't seem like an option," Corroon said. "It doesn't seem like there's enough money to satisfy it."

Gaining 10 acres of downtown land for a stadium would run between $15 million to $20 million, whereas the Fairpark ground is basically free.

Any option that doesn't require a county bond is a good option, Corroon said. A countywide bond doesn't seem to have the support of the county council, he said.

"Our council is leery of that," Corroon said.

Without a county bond, Salt Lake City and the state would be left to cover the some $30 million in public funding RSL is looking for. Some have suggested a special taxing district could pay for the stadium, but that idea might not gain traction at the Legislature.

Murray has also put forth a potential stadium site near 4500 South and State, and Mayor Dan Snarr thinks they can offer some affordable land there as well. Sandy leaders have also suggested a stadium could be put near the South Town Expo Center, and that some $20 million the Legislature allocated for a new expo center parking structure could be used for the stadium as well.

For its first two to three years, RSL will play at the University of Utah's cavernous Rice-Eccles Stadium. Later, team leaders want to move to their own stadium, which they say is necessary to provide the right atmosphere for soccer.

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E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com