Giving birth is quite an ordeal. It is preceded by months of discomfort and worry. Then there's the delivery, which often involves a lot of crying and maybe even screaming. You wonder if it's worth the trouble.

A year later, you're looking at your kid and wondering how you ever got along without them.

So, happy first birthday Rio Tinto Stadium.

You were a pain to deliver, but in retrospect, you didn't turn out half bad.

Real Salt Lake hosts the New York Red Bulls tonight in the next-to-last home game of the year. It's not exactly a thriller, considering RSL is close to postseason elimination. Still, you'll have to give the Utah club this: It has nice digs. Lush grass, colorful seating, great sight lines, sparkling concourses, panoramic backdrop.

Looking at Baby-pooh's one-year portrait, it's clearly a beauty.

"You're always a little nervous about what the reaction will be," said RSL president Bill Manning, recalling the stadium's opening. "I'm not going to say it was so much a surprise as just that it was such a good thing to rally around."

So good, in fact, that RSL officials have taken to calling it the "Crown Jewel of American Soccer."

It's hard to be modest when you're bragging about your offspring.

You know the story of Rio Tinto. The drama played out over a couple of years, with plenty of backbiting and debating as to what a transient room tax really is. Many didn't want a new stadium, subsidized or not. Others didn't want it to be in Sandy.

But up it went, smack in the heart of suburbia.

During construction, it looked a little weird, with its undulating canopy frame. But when it came together, it was hard to deny. The place looked good.

You may hate soccer, and you might not even like The Eagles, but it's hard not to appreciate mountain scenery and fresh air in a new stadium setting.

So Utah's newest venue was born and grew. Three hundred sixty-thousand fans have attended 68 events. Since last October, there have been MLS regular-season, playoff and all-star games, international friendlies, a monster truck show, high school soccer games, a junior college bowl game and concerts by The Eagles, Kenny Chesney, REO Speedwagon and Styx.

Each gave the stadium thumbs up.

"They all said they want to come back," said Manning. "If they don't enjoy themselves, they're not going to want to come again."

One thing about Rio Tinto is that it can draw people who wouldn't know a corner kick from a corner market. They may be coming to see their favorite rock stars, rather than soccer, but it's hard not to be impressed.

"We didn't cheapen down on anything," said Manning. "We tried to go first class."