And the amphitheater, which hosts multiple concerts and musicals throughout the year, fits into the county's overall vision for arts scattered across the county.

Corroon is hesitant to give any more money to the $110 million soccer stadium. The state already forced county leaders to use $35 million in hotel-room tax dollars to pay for public infrastructure on the facility.

Sandy wanted to raise $10 million through a community development agency, but that takes the cooperation of all the taxing entities in the area. And cooperation is hard to come by.

Salt Lake County refuses to join in the CDA, and Jordan School District officials have already made it clear that they will not forgo their cut of property tax dollars for the multimillion-dollar stadium.

"I don't feel that it is in the best interest to contribute more revenue to the project," Corroon wrote in a letter earlier this week to Randy Sant, Sandy's economic development director.

Corroon believes the stadium is an "unsafe investment" of taxpayer dollars.

A new study by the University of Utah Center of Public Policy and Administration says sports stadiums have not shown significant positive impact on local economies.

"In fact, a sports franchise has about the same scale of economic effect as a large grocery store," according to the study, which was released Wednesday.

However, quality-of-life issues may justify continued public financing, according to the study.

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com