2 cities vying for stadium

Major League Soccer advocates and Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson have insisted the LDS Church's presiding bishopric supports having a Major League Soccer stadium downtown.

But as others have tried to speak for the church, Bishop H. David Burton, head of the Corporation of the Presiding Bishopric of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, remained silent — until Tuesday.

In response to Deseret Morning News inquiries, Bishop Burton released a statement Tuesday:

"The church applauds economic development efforts that will enhance the appeal and vitality of downtown Salt Lake City," Bishop Burton said.

The church's public relations department said the statement should stand alone and should not be seen as the church taking sides, nor as the church taking a position on how a stadium for Real Salt Lake should be funded.

Anderson said the statement comes a day after Bishop Burton said he would make it clear the church favors a downtown stadium.

"He assured me again yesterday that he would make it clear that the church favors the soccer stadium site in downtown Salt Lake City," Anderson said Tuesday.

Salt Lake City has proposed putting the stadium on a 10-acre block between 600 South and 700 South, and between West Temple and Main Street.

Murray has its own proposal for a stadium on a 100-acre site near 4500 South and I-15. That site would include housing, a Target store and a Lowe's home improvement store and would have space for practice fields and other soccer-related facilities.

Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts told the Deseret Morning News editorial board Monday he wants to build the stadium downtown to help revitalize the city's center. However, he noted it would be cheaper to build it in Murray and said there are other benefits there, like the possibility of approaching Lowe's or Target to buy naming rights for the stadium.

Real Salt Lake spokesman Joshua Ewing said the team will hold public meetings in both cities before making a decision near the end of this month.

While Murray's proposal is solid with few outstanding issues regarding land and the site, Salt Lake City still needs to negotiate purchase of the downtown block, which is worth about $15.5 million. Most of the block is owned by Sinclair Oil Co. billionaire Earl Holding.

Real Salt Lake wants free land to build its $60 million stadium. The team also wants $30 million in public funding, which it hopes to secure by getting a special bond election in Salt Lake County this year. The team would first have to persuade the Salt Lake County Council to put on the bond election. Then the bond would have to be approved by voters.

A pair of public opinion polls, one commissioned by the Deseret Morning News, shows a majority of residents don't favor public financing for the proposed soccer stadium

Several Salt Lake City Council members said they don't expect the county will opt for a special bond election this year and will instead wait to see attendance figures for the team's first few seasons at the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium before going forward with a bond vote.

Checketts said pushing the bond election past 2005 would create significant project delays. Real Salt Lake wants a smaller, soccer-specific stadium.

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E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com