Real approached the Expo Center about possibly sharing the center's 1,700 spots, but scheduling conflicts would make that difficult, said Erin Litvak, Salt Lake County's community services director.

Real will have more than 1,000 public parking spaces within a 5-minute walk of the stadium when it opens this fall, and Real officials say it won't be a problem to tie down 900 more spaces in the meantime. Within two years, Real will have another 1,000 spaces within a five-minute walk, and a new parking structure could be built in coming years.

"What's most important is making sure that, at the end of the day, our customers have a good experience," said Real project manager Dave Kerschner. "We want our fans to enjoy the game, and enjoy getting in and enjoy getting out. For that reason, parking is a big deal to us, because parking is a substantial part of the experience and we want to make sure that it's done right."

The Sandy Planning Commission voted Thursday to rezone about 4 acres of land to the north of the stadium to accommodate the soccer company's parking plans. Real will have to tear down structures that are currently on the property, then plans to allow fans to park in the area. Real does not plan to pave the area, officials said.

The rezone will have to be voted on by the Sandy City Council to become official.

The Planning Commission will hear more about Real's parking plans at its meeting Feb. 7.

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Contributing: Rebecca Palmer
E-mail: achoate@desnews.com