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Stadium is fielding money — from us

Don't you have anything better to do yet Mr. Doug then to continue crying about the Stadium?! Everyone who is crying with you is going to, one time or another, go to the stadium whether for a game or concert and realize how nice, convenient, and state of the art it is. Afterwards you will see too that this stadium will bring in more money than you may ever admit to. So go complain about the Utah Flash and something less entertaining. By the way, you never mention how much personal money Mr. Dave Checketts has put into the stadium before it even broke ground.

AMEN! I couldn't have said it any better... No really, I couldn't have said it any better!

I happen to agree with Doug on this one. The whole stadium thing is a rip off from the get go. Why should the public have to support Dave and his hobby. If he wants to bring a sports team here then he should buy the land and build the stadium with his own money. It is a business. If he brings a product that the consumers want, then he makes money. If not then he loses money. We the public shouldn't have to pay for him to risk running his pet projects to see if they work or not. If this is such a sure thing then Dave should put all of his money into it. If he doesn't have enough money to do it all himself then find some private investers to help come up with the money, not the pubic taxpayer! If the project is a sucess then Dave wins with big money for himself, not the taxpayer. If it fails, then he walks away with a small loss to himself (at least to someone with big bucks) but the taxpayer winds up paying for it for years.

Maybe the "economic" benefits to the Salt Palace, Winter Olympics, and Franklin Covey field haven't been as high as some expected, but is anyone saying it wasn't worth the investment?!? Those projects were some of the best things that happened to Utah in the last century! Once this stadium is built, it will be the same--A Utah landmark that brings joy and happiness to many Utahans. No one will question its worth and the little cost we had to front. (Not to mention our part of the cost comes from the tax on visitors.)

Mr. Optimistic needs to open his eyes. Mr. Robinson is exactly right. Dave Checketts and Mary Kay Huntsman were worried about Dave Checketts and Mary Kay Huntsman - and nobody else. The stadium is a boondoggle by the rich, for the rich, and of the rich. But then, as we all know, he who has the gold makes the rules.

Ask 45,000 soccer-playing kids around the state if they would like to have a professional soccer team with their own stadium here in Utah so they can go to games with their parents, teams, and friends. They will invariably say yes! Do they care about the cost? NO. Neither do I as a tax paying adult.

Let go of the finances and embrace family friendly activities that will surround this stadium and the soccer team. This whining about finances is a tired old dog that has been beat one too many times and just wants to lie down and rest and then play with the children in the yard.
Let the highest soccer-playing populous per capita in the nation enjoy the stadium, the game, the team, instead of walk through the mire and goo spread by fiscal tightwads and 'watchdogs' with nothing to do but hate, spurn, and beat down this poor dog named soccer and all associated with it.

Well, Jordan, the Salt Palace & Winter Olympics Games have proved to be everything we expected. Franklin Covey: Nope. One of those three you described is a stadium, one is a convention center and the third was a global event. As a multiple choice question, I say Sandy's soccer stadium looks like Franklin Covey...not a convention center or global event. Hmmm.

If there were no stadiums for sports i guess there'd be no reason for a sports section in the paper and no sports writers. So when you say no economical impact how about your job! How many jobs are there for sports writers where there are no sports. Just say thank you and write about sports not your narrow minded wallet. O and you must be using a lot of hotels these days if your so worried about the cost.

of the 45,000 soccer playing kids only about 2000 are really athletically inclined and the others are there for the "participation" aspect of soccer. Sure my daughters play soccer (of course the boys play football) but we'll never go to a soccer game at that stadium.....why would we when we could find about 1000 better things to do in our beautiful state besides watch a team lose (again) 2-0. The stadium is a deal that benefits only a very few given the cost we all incur. I will vote against everyone who pushed this through today, we should all do the same.

When I bought my house, the price was $310,000. The realtor didn't tell me the cost was $850,000+ or whatever after the interest is paid. When you get a loan, there is interest to be paid, everyone knows that. Don't act like its some big conspiracy. Stadiums go up with public money all the time. The community will benefit.

Maybe if it were in SLC, but in Sandy! What a joke.

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness."

You folks can criticize Doug Robinson all you want, but at least he has intelligence to see what is happening here -- that the wealthy are lining their own pockets at the public's expense -- and has the guts to call evil evil.

Thank you, Doug. I commend you for your integrity.

Well-stated, Mr. Doug. Anyone who starts an article with a quote from George Costanza deserves to be heard. You have been a voice of reason throughout this entire episode of incredibly stupid decisions on the part of public officials that climaxed in the profoundly dumb stunt of everyone gathered at the State Capitol with Real Salt Lake soccer scarves around their necks. They were there to announce that the taxpayers of Utah would be stuck with this bill for years to come. Nice work.

Give me a break, soccer haters. This isn't abnormal to help pay for stadiums and other private interests. Why aren't people up in arms for the millions given as incentives to other private ventures in the state? Let it go.

Here is my bottom line...SOCCER IS THE MOST BORING THING THAT I COULD EVER IMAGINE WATCHING! Why waste money on something that is so painful to watch? Leave soccer to the little kids and high schools. If we are going to waste taxpayer money on stadiums let's waste it on genuine sports!

this article. I brought up many of these points in a comment on the artical you reference. The PC police at the Deseret News would not print it.

Glad you were able to get this past them. Keep up the good work, Doug.

Can't wait 'til the stadium is complete. Go RSL!

Hay when the team folds they can alwase convert it to a football field so that Jordan can play a home game!!!

Doug, you've got to be kidding me! Your understanding of finance and particularly public finance is dazzling. Next time somebody asks me how much I paid for my car, should I tell them it cost me $29,500 or should I add in the all the projected interest and tell them that it cost me $34,219? Or better yet, should I tell people that my $239,000 house cost me $515,853.

Your argument is intellectually dishonest, and only stupid people will fall for it.

Doug, as a culture, we in Utah don't care much for confrontation, so when you refer to the governor and his wife in a less than positive way, people immediately come to the conclusion that you are not a very nice guy. What business did the governor have in pushing this through after independent auditors discovered the stadium didn�t make sense financially? I would not vote for him again. The comment was made that we should consider how much money Dave Checkkets has contributed to the deal. So what�s the point, that he�s a nice guy? If he�s such a generous man, why doesn�t he throw some of his money at education or the arts? Checketts is a businessman who put up the money because he hopes to make more money. Kudos to Sandy city officials for their integrity in standing up for what was right even though it went against the governor�s personal preferences. Some officials even liked the idea of the stadium, but it did not make financial sense. Sure, some tax payers will enjoy the stadium, but whatever happened to representing the majority?