Klein has been down this road before

Chris Klein has been down this frustrating, unpredictable path before.

As a member of the Kansas City Wizards for eight years prior to joining Real Salt Lake last season, rumors were always circulating about the future of the Wizards. Through the years, Kansas City was rumored to be on the move countless times, whether it was to a new ownership group in St. Louis, another in Tulsa or some other mystery city vying for an MLS team.

Each time, however, additional rumors would surface about the team being saved and the prospects of a soccer-specific stadium being built in Kansas City.

"It can wear you down after a while, the constant rumors of where you're moving this week," said Klein.

Twelve years after the league's inception, the Wizards are still in Kansas City playing in the same cavernous Arrowhead Stadium they always have.

With the announcement Monday that Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon would not support using county funds for Real Salt Lake's proposed Sandy stadium, it looks like the rumor mill has followed Klein to Utah — or will it be Real St. Louis in 2008?

"From the team point of view, it's a distraction," said Klein. "The longer it drags on it's a distraction to the team."

Like most RSL fans, Klein wasn't necessarily surprised by Monday's announcement, but he's quite troubled by the decision.

"I really believe in my heart that soccer works here," said Klein. "I really believe this stadium will become one of the major pieces for the United States National team because there are few cities where (we) can host a national team game and have a pro-American crowd."

For Klein and the rest of his RSL teammates, the distraction associated with the stadium and talk of relocation are about to get worse. Real Salt Lake's two-month training camp gets underway Monday at the University of Utah indoor football facility, and you can bet the players are going to be inundated with questions not involving soccer.

Nonetheless, as Klein points out, the players and coaches have a job to do, "otherwise we're not going to be here next year anyway."

If Checketts ultimately sells the franchise and it's relocated, the players are under contract and have no choice but to relocate as well. That's exactly what happened to the San Jose Earthquakes after the 2005 season. After 11 successful seasons, the club was sold to an ownership group in Houston, and with the same core of players it had in San Jose, the Houston Dynamo won the MLS Cup last November.

"For myself, I'm not really worried. My family and I love it here, but the realization is we never know where we're going to be next year anyway," said Klein.