Checketts, Real poised for stadium construction

The Monday construction start date is the same day signatures are due for a voter referendum against public funding for the stadium. If nearly 92,000 signatures of registered Utah voters are collected by April 9, a decision on whether the $35 million in hotel-tax dollars goes to the stadium could be up to voters.

Checketts said he recognizes the referendum is part of the political process. But he said he's concerned that there's been misinformation about the project.

Real has been running full-page color ads in the Deseret Morning News detailing the stadium deal. Those ads, he said, are part of "Real Week," the week leading up to the first home game of the season, which happens Saturday. He added, though, that they clear up confusion surrounding the funding details.

"There had been enough misinformation that we were obligated not to fight anybody," he said, "but inform the state."

Sandy city has been leery of approving any sort of parking plans with Real because of numerous unresolved issues. City officials are worried about the limited amount of stalls on-site and how to funnel more than 20,000 fans in and out of the stadium for games.

The limited surface parking (less than 1,000 spots) is a temporary plan, and Real plans to build a larger parking structure as a permanent solution once the bigger development falls into place. Checketts said he's not "stressed about that at all.

"We're confident that there's 7,000 parking places in a 15-minute walking distance," he said. "I don't think they're (Sandy) comfortable yet, but they'll either get comfortable or we'll figure it out."

Jake Greenland, project manager for Layton Turner Construction, said 400-450 employees will be working to build the project. Steel will start going up in mid-June.

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E-mail: astowell@desnews.com