Wilson, who is also a Salt Lake City mayoral candidate, could not be reached for comment Monday.

During the debate over the plan at the county level, Wilson advocated for the team continuing to play at the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium until soccer could be proved popular enough to have a viable stadium of its own. She voted against county funding for the stadium in July 2006.

Another Salt Lake City mayoral candidate, City Councilwoman Nancy Saxton, said she signed the petition because she thinks the state deal stinks.

"If the state was going to mandate that we use county funds, then they should have done the kind of financial scrutiny that the county did," she said.

She pointed to Goldman Sachs' decision to pull out of the investment in the stadium as a sign that the funding plan is not as sound as supporters would claim. Real has since secured iStar Financial as a new investor.

"It's important for cities, counties and states to be transparent when they make decisions, and this was not," she said. "If the state felt so strongly about it, they should have funded it themselves."

Rep. Jackie Biskupski, D-Salt Lake City, who voted against the measure in the House, said she hopes the referendum goes to a public vote because county residents elected Corroon to decide what to do with county funds. She signed the petition and even went door-to-door in her neighborhood with a packet one night.

"I think it's an issue that the folks in this county should get a chance to vote on. I mean, we're pulling dollars for a number of years out of the county budget for this land purchase and taking it out of other programs," she said.

Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, on the other hand, said he signed the petition because he doesn't think the public should help pay for a stadium.

"I don't think it's an appropriate use of public money to give tax dollars for the construction of a professional soccer stadium," said Stephenson, who voted against the deal in the Senate and who also heads the Utah Taxpayers Association. "It just comes down to the principle of the use of tax dollars for private purposes."

Real began construction on April 9 for a $110 million soccer stadium in Sandy. Sandy has committed an additional $10 million in redevelopment agency funds. Real hopes to finish the stadium in August 2008.

---

Contributing: Leigh Dethman

E-mail: astowell@desnews.com; dsmeath@desnews.com