Salt Lake City officials remain supportive of a Real Salt Lake soccer stadium in Sandy, but in case that deal fails, Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson is offering $8 million from the city to help the team build a stadium at the Utah State Fairpark.

He characterizes the offer as a second option, "that would be able to work if a Sandy deal isn't going to happen." Legislation being floated on Capitol Hill aims to save the south-valley location.

Under the Salt Lake City offer, made public Friday in a proposed resolution to be considered by the City Council on Tuesday, the money would be reimbursed by broadcasting and other media promotion for the city, the future sale of surplus city property, and tax-increment financing.

In addition to drawing more visitors to the city, the idea would have an immediate and direct impact on city revenue, Anderson said. The Fairpark is owned by the state and is not subject to property taxes, but the stadium would be.

Land at the Fairpark, on North Temple and 1000 West, could be leased to the team with the approval of the park's advisory board, and Anderson said he is hopeful an agreement could be reached.

Anderson's offer is conditioned on the team building a soccer academy within the city — something the team had already announced it would do.

The stadium also must be built to the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards. And the team's owners must agree to keep Real in Salt Lake for at least 10 years.

The plan would have the team help pay for the stadium with $7.5 million it had planned to put toward a regional sports complex in the city's northwest corner. The sports-complex money would instead come from Salt Lake County hotel-room taxes.

Councilman Carlton Christensen, who is chairman of the RDA board and whose district includes the Fairpark, called the stadium plan "a rare opportunity to redevelop not only the Fairpark area but the North Temple corridor."

Anderson and others in the city have pushed for the stadium to be built at the Fairpark in the past, but that idea seemed dead when Real announced its plans to build in Sandy. When county Mayor Peter Corroon earlier this week denied the money for the Sandy site, Anderson and the council saw the chance to revive the idea.

However, Christensen and Anderson both say they would be supportive of a Sandy site and simply want to make sure the team has a second choice. If an agreement isn't reached by Friday, the team will be sold out of state, Anderson said.

"I don't think anybody on the council has wanted to do it at the expense of Sandy," Christensen said. "While we've advocated for this location, we've been more than content to be on the side and see what happens."

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