SANDY — After weeks of finger-pointing, accusations and bad press, Real Salt Lake team owner Dave Checketts flew into town Wednesday and made a surprising announcement:

In the next 30 days, Real will pay $7.5 million to Salt Lake City for a youth sports complex — with no strings attached. That will allow the city to float a $15.3 million bond for the complex, which voters approved in 2003.

"And we ask for nothing — and I mean nothing — in return," Checketts said.

Real officials had wanted that $7.5 million to be an investment into the 180-acre complex to be built at 2000 North between Redwood Road and I-215, meaning the team would get a cut of concession sales and naming rights. Checketts said negotiations have always been as such and shared a handful of documents with the media Tuesday confirming that.

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson and numerous mayoral candidates, however, disagreed and said that $7.5 million had always been advertised as a gift or donation. Anderson sent a letter Tuesday to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., saying it would be a "betrayal" to give Real $35 million in hotel-tax dollars for its Major League Soccer stadium in Sandy but not hold the team to its commitment to the sports-complex money.

An interlocal agreement is being finalized between the state, Real and Sandy that says the team must contribute $7.5 million for the complex before the state will give $35 million for land and parking at Real's soccer stadium in Sandy.

"It's certainly not right that they get the public funding provided for by statute and start adding on conditions that were never disclosed to legislators," Anderson said Wednesday. "The team waited until they got the legislation passed, which provided $35 million in public funding, to start calling what had earlier been a contribution to an investment and making demands that they got a return on that investment."

Anderson didn't dispute that the idea of naming rights and concession sales had been talked about in meetings. But he said they were among many things discussed. He added there was no written agreement, proposal or letter confirming Real's conditions.

Mike Mower, the governor's spokesperson, said the team moneymakers had been discussed prior to the legislative session but never in detail during the session. He expressed the governor's excitement that Real reaffirmed its commitment Wednesday for the sports complex.

Checketts, on the other hand, said the team addressed its involvement in the complex "from the very first meeting." He added: "Even if it was a gift, I have a right, I think, to ask for things."