It's official: Real Madrid is coming

It's official, Real Madrid is coming to town — barely.

Despite losing its final game of the Spanish regular season on Tuesday, a 4-3 defeat to Sevilla, the European giants still finished second in the standings, one point ahead of Valencia, which also lost Tuesday.

By finishing in the top two, Real Madrid won't be required to play a Champions League qualifying match this August, therefore enabling it to play Real Salt Lake in an exhibition match later this summer.

The only question remaining is where the Aug. 12 match will be played.

RSL owner Dave Checketts has said the likely site will be LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. While some fans balk at the idea of playing an international soccer match there, Checketts points to the 20,000 extra seats and the natural grass playing surface at the BYU stadium as the primary reasons to play the match in Provo.

There's still an outside shot it could be played at Rice-Eccles Stadium, but a temporary grass surface would have to be installed just as it was for the U.S. National Team match against Costa Rica last summer.

More than 40,000 packed Rice-Eccles Stadium for that match, and RSL is no doubt hoping to sell even more tickets for Real Madrid's visit.

Whether it's in Provo or Salt Lake City, Real Salt Lake fans can start getting excited to see Real Madrid, and its superstar-filled lineup that includes David Beckham and Ronaldo, play a match in Utah.

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E-mail: jedward@desnews.com