Vent soccer deal in public

Now that the Salt Lake County Council, on a 5-4 vote, has voted to support Mayor Peter Corroon's plan to give a soccer team $55 million in subsidies, it's back to the negotiating table to hammer out the remaining details. The final version will come back to the council for its approval.

At this point, it's difficult to foresee any reason that the deal would unravel. Still, Salt Lake County residents deserve a detailed accounting of how the agreement will work. The council should set aside ample time for public inspection of the final agreement as well as accept public comment before making its final decision.

As much as Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts represents that the stadium deal is all but done, Councilman David Wilde raises an interesting legal question: Can the Council bind a future council into bonding in 2011 and 2015? That question must be answered before the council gives its approval.

Furthermore, the current proposal requires Real Salt Lake to pay $10 million to the county if the soccer club moves within 30 years. Precisely how will that money be secured? Should the county require a performance bond? Or should it seek injunctive relief from a court, as Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson has proposed, to ensure Real honors this obligation.

The deal envisions Real providing $27.5 million in cash and in-kind contributions to Salt Lake County, along with a $7.5 million contribution toward a youth soccer complex in northwest Salt Lake City. Meanwhile, Sandy city would provide $15 million in redevelopment agency funds toward the project.

After the high-profile groundbreaking ceremony in Sandy that featured Real Madrid soccer great David Beckham and numerous county and city officials, it is unlikely that anything could bring down the deal. But as anyone who has put together a multimillion dollar deal knows, the devil is in the details.

The County Council, which has given its preliminary OK to the agreement to provide $20 million in hotel taxes to Real for stadium infrastructure and would share a $20 million parking garage with Real Salt Lake, must carefully contemplate the fine print before giving final approval. This deal, which was largely hammered out in private, deserves intense public scrutiny.