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.

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E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com