"All we've resolved is a location and right now everything else is on the table," Fitz-Gerald said. "We do envision our stadium as filling a public need. It's not a cathedral just for team games."

Fitz-Gerald added that team leaders would be meeting with Mayor Peter Corroon soon about those funding decisions. There is currently no pitch to the county from the team or from host city Sandy.

Mike Jensen, chair of the Salt Lake County Council, reiterated Tuesday that neither the County Council nor the mayor's office has taken an official position on whether the $18 million intended for the Expo center should be funneled toward Real's stadium.

The parking lot money was originally included as part of an $80 million county bond to expand the Salt Palace Convention Center and enhance parking at the Expo Center.

"We went to the Legislature because we had a parking problem. We still need to fix that parking problem, and we haven't determined how we're going to do that yet," Jensen said.

Councilman Cort Ashton, however, added that county leaders shouldn't rule out a possible compromise between the government and the soccer team.

"They need to build a parking facility. If there's an opportunity to work smart and share facilities, I'd encourage us not to be so bureaucratic on this," he said.

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E-mail: estewart@desnews.com