Glitz aside, focus on details
Even the most ardent opponents of public funding for a new soccer stadium in Utah have to admire Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts' salesmanship. The hype surrounding Saturday's game between his club and the much-celebrated Real Madrid, with its bigger-than-Michael-Jordan star David Beckham, was thick enough to cut with a scepter. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were just icing on the cake.
We'll take Checketts' word for it when he says he didn't know until the last minute whether a stadium agreement would be made in time for his self-imposed deadline on Saturday. But he certainly was responsible for bringing in a show that put the pressure on.
In the end, however, even Checketts himself may have been carried away by all the glamour. Saturday's "agreement" contains few details on how the funding will work. It leaves many questions unanswered. It was, in Checketts' words, "a leap of faith" on his part to announce the team was staying.
And after the end, now that the celebrities have left and the cheering is through, the public is left knowing it will be forced to pay for something that simply shouldn't be a taxpayer responsibility. Yes, hotel-room taxes are paid by visitors, not by locals. But those taxes should be used to promote tourism and pay for the services they use, and now governments will have less freedom to do so. Sandy's $15 million share will be in redevelopment funds, which means schools and other public entities will not receive the extra money they normally would from such developments. Not for many years, anyway. Rocky Anderson's 11th hour conversion to the deal was an interesting effort to grab money for some Salt Lake City projects.
Obviously, it's too late to oppose a stadium deal. After last Saturday's hoopla, we doubt anyone could back out. The emphasis now should be on crafting details that will be the least damaging to taxpayers.
That means supporting Mayor Peter Corroon's assertion that public money should go only toward infrastructure, such as sidewalks and sewer connections. It also means moving the parking garage next to the county's convention center, not next to the stadium. Otherwise, convention-center patrons will be left having to cross busy State Street on a daily basis.
It means some tough negotiating in the months ahead, away from the bright lights and celebrities.
Comments
- Eat your squash and blossoms 3:21 p.m.
- Searchers shovel seeking giant worm 3:18 p.m.
- Canal breaks, causes landslide in Logan 3:16 p.m.
- Crash kills Arizona woman 3:13 p.m.
- Lost crab pots 2:56 p.m.
- Lightning delays shuttle launch 2:54 p.m.
- Sweating can be big stuff 2:53 p.m.
- Exhumation finds 1 body in grave 2:41 p.m.
- Body found at NY skyscraper 2:37 p.m.
- McNair mourned as a 'hero,' 2:31 p.m.
- Jazz brass debate Millsap match
- LDS seminary principal arrested
- 2 men cited on LDS plaza
- Jazz finances not quite so bleak
- Reactions on Boozer speculation
- Utahns among Texans' investors
- HBO defends U. logo use in 'Love'
- Cash for Clunkers to get rolling soon
- 10 years after the flood
- Jazz rookies quiet Thunder youngsters
- LDS seminary principal arrested
281 - Jazz brass debate Millsap match
181 - 2 men cited on LDS plaza
142 - Bronco collecting a galaxy of recruits
141 - Jazz talking Boozer trade?
140 - Blazers may offer Millsap a contract
124 - Stadium of Fire flag burning was fake
99 - Fairness of BCS debated
82 - Letters: Single-payer system best
76 - Services bids farewell to Jackson
70
By now you've probably read about the investigation that showed just how...
Sen. Scott Jenkins was name-checked by Jay Leno Monday night during his...
But I am very disappointed in the way this is being handled. For his...
BYU is clearly the better team of the two, they have proven that for the past...
Private property is private property. If you don't follow the wishes of the...
Looks like Portland is in the process of putting one over on the Jazz! We...
Whoa! This is another insane idea from this administration.
Big deal. 17 goals in 81 games is crap. He won't play in Europe so the...
I must have missed the accusation that President Clinton fondled a 16 year...
This is an absolute embarrassment and shame to the educational church...
Watching porn doesn't MAKE or turn someone into a pedophile. If that were...
While I see the point you are trying to prove here, it isn't anything like...



You can be the first to comment on this story.