Deseret News | Soccer stadium funding hits a snag

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Soccer stadium funding hits a snag

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Brian | 1:15 p.m. April 30, 2008

I'm not a huge soccer fan but I am a big sports fan and was hopeful that this city would be successful in attracting and keeping another professional sports option. I went to a few games early on, watched on TV when possible, and generally followed the team. But at some point the franchise itself has the obligation to put forth the effort to give us a product worthy of our money, time, and energy. Real Salt Lake has TOTALLY FAILED to do this and I have now lost all interest. I don't hate soccer or having a team in salt lake with a big stadium I helped pay for. I do hate that all of this effort is going to a private ownership that has no interest in fielding a competitive team. This whole franchise may go down as one of the biggest flops in all of sports as far as starting up a new team in a city.

To: Uh Huh | 2:22 p.m. April 30, 2008

Every trip you make ? To where ? Salt Lake County hotels ? If so, then you are probably not a Salt Lake County resident. The point is that the tax money is NOT coming out of Salt Lake County residentsï¿½ wallets unless you do live in Salt Lake County and are renting rooms by the hour. Fact is ï¿½ every city/county in America charges a Transient Room tax on hotel rooms and uses it for whatever they want it for. Salt Lake Countyï¿½s tax is not something new.

Brian | 2:31 p.m. April 30, 2008

Brian, you are wrong. They have a competitive team. The spin doctors are the ones that made RSL look bad. Everything is viewed by one's own perspective.

Comments continue below

Wishfulfilment | 2:32 p.m. April 30, 2008

I wish this would have fallen through a year ago cause then maybe we (here in St Louis) would not have to wait and wait for a team cause we would have yours.

Nazdar | 3:01 p.m. April 30, 2008

To Brian:

Unless you are from outside of SL County will you tell me how you helped pay for the stadium?

Truth is that unless you stayed in a hotel here you didn't help pay for it at all.

And truth is that they didn't steal it from any one here. The tax can only be used to promote tourism. Not on schools, not on freeways, not on TRAX and not on housing projects.

I am glad that you like soccer and I too am frustrated with the results of the team but the play on the field has been great. Come back and see.

Buffalo fan | 3:06 p.m. April 30, 2008

Re: Wishfulfilment 2:32

same here! I wish Real had failed to get the stadium in Utah. I would love to have tourists to Buffalo fund the infrastructure to get a soccer team/stadium to Buffalo.

I can't believe so many people are up in arms that tourists to their state are funding another entertainment option for them and their kids to enjoy. That's like a kid turning away free ice-cream. I can understand if they said they were raising your income taxes or property taxes. But they're saying, "Hey Utah, we're going to bring another pro sports team here that is the #1 sport for your children and one of the fastest growing sports in the nation. The owner is going to build the stadium, but we need to build some infrastructure. We get to own the land, county-wide revenues increase which benefits us all. And the best part is, is that our end of the deal, $45Million, will be fully funded by tourists!"

ZIP | 3:09 p.m. April 30, 2008

If Dave Checkettes wants a Stadiam built let him help pay for it.

It's my money! | 3:11 p.m. April 30, 2008

Sometimes I need a local hotel room to get away for a few hours. So this Transient Tax definitely affects me.

Sincerely,

Bill Clinton and Frmr NY Gov Eliot Spitzer.

Waste | 3:14 p.m. April 30, 2008

Waste of time and money

re: Wishful | 3:41 p.m. April 30, 2008

I wish the team had moved to St. Louis too, then this nightmare would be yours, not ours, and Checketts' greedy little albatross empire would all be right there. MLS is floundering. TV ratings and attendance are down or flat with just a vocal minority of niche fans that care. LA has the only financially viable pro soccer franchise with an over-the-hill superstar named Beckham who will soon retire with his riches. MLS is not the the NFL, college football/hoops, MLB, NBA, or even NHL; it doesn't move the meter in general U.S. sports fan interest and it will fail. As someone said earlier, this stadium will eventually be a mutli-million dollar shrine to excess & gullibility. I say you can have it, St. Louis.

Uh huh | 4:09 p.m. April 30, 2008

to: "To: Uh Huh"

Typical greedy con response- you're only supposed to care about taxes you pay personally, if you're gorging on someone else's taxes, that's fine. "Me me me, so long as I'm not the one paying". How is that different from liberalism? Utah is filled with fake con tax hogs.

For the record, on every business trip I take (I'm from southern Utah)I pay room taxes that y'all claim is "free money" from "outsiders". Ya'll are a bunch of tax hogging pigs, fattening up at the trough happy as can be so long as you're gorging on the tax money of others.

Money is Money | 4:19 p.m. April 30, 2008

The deficit from the room tax for soccer has to be made up elsewhere. Everybody pays.

Big Idea! | 4:20 p.m. April 30, 2008

Hey, I have an idea. How about having the soccer team pay for the stadium? If there's not enough money in major league soccer to support a stadium, then good riddance. Some of us who don't intend to pay for soccer tickets don't want to subsidize those of you who do. If the team has to charge $300 a ticket to afford a stadium, so be it. If it can't sell enough tickets, then why make the public pay? I've have enough of our legislators, who can't seem to keep their hands off other people's money for the purposes that they in their infinite wisdom consider more important than the necessities that government must provide. Let's spend money on education, roads and security, and let's cut all the other fat off this cholesterol-laden pot roast we call the state and local government. Maybe Sandy can't afford to put any more money into a stadium now that they're trying to figure out how to get all of to help pay for theater tickets because now they want the GOVERNMENT to build a Broadway style theater. I say to government officials. Quit spending my money except where necessary. Free market rules!

To: Big Idea! | 4:27 p.m. April 30, 2008

Maybe you should educate yourself on the issue before you make a fool of yourself. Try reading some of the comments at the bottom of page 1 and try to figure out where the money is coming from.

Checketts IS paying for the stadium. This tax money from the county CANNOT be used for education, roads, or security.

Maybe... | 4:47 p.m. April 30, 2008

the Governor ought to picth in some of that Huntsman's wealth. I'm sure they can afford to pitch in a tax deductible contribution, instead of obligating the tax payers to put up the bill...

Narrow | 4:49 p.m. April 30, 2008

It saddens me that I am a resident of the same state that houses such narrow minded people. People that whine about the sport, about 'their' tax money. They obviously have lead sheltered lives and don't have any clue about the facts. Soccer is world renowned. The money (for infrastructure not the stadium) is not yours and is not available to allocate just anywhere. We appear like fools to the rest of the country (Buffalo fan, Wishfulfilment) because we are crying about big benefits (ice cream!) for no cost (unless you are a tourist). RSL would certainly be appreciated in other places. Utah doesn't know a good thing when they got it. Luckily it's hard to hear the whines over the 20,000 cheering people that attended the opener this season!

Pay for It Yourself | 4:58 p.m. April 30, 2008

Narrow,
You are right! Utahns don't want or appreciate professional soccer. You are right! Utahns don't want to pay for a soccer stadium with tax money. Fully fund the stadium without tax money and few would complain ...er...whine.

Oh...and wake up call, the rest of the country already thinks we are fools and have thought such for a long time.

Maybe you could use your life savings to help float this deal. With the stupendous success you project, you will make ooddles of money on your investment.

pointless | 5:13 p.m. April 30, 2008

Let's argue about the Energy Solutions Center, maybe it will disappear and the Jazz too.

Let's argue about the RSL stadium being built, maybe it will disappear and RSL too.

It's done. Get over it.

Interesting | 5:18 p.m. April 30, 2008

To all. I don't want to pay for the roads you drive on. I don't want to pay for the school your kids attend. I don't want to pay for the welfare that you live on. I don't want to pay for the collection of all that trash you toss out. I don't want to pay for the WAR. I don't want to pay for the E-center. I don't want to pay for the Bee's stadium with the lame name. I don't want to pay for the ESA that is also funded by the biggest toxic waste depositor. I don't want to pay for the shopping malls you shop in. I don't want to pay for the water you wash your face with or pay for the pipes that deliver it. I don't want to pay for the salary for the politicians.

Guess what? Too freaking bad.

You get to pay for my stadium and I am so happy about it!

GO RSL!

Narrow | 5:18 p.m. April 30, 2008

"Oh...and wake up call, the rest of the country already thinks we are fools and have thought such for a long time."

I'm glad you're comfortable.

re: Narrow | 5:30 p.m. April 30, 2008

It saddens me that you choose to distort and spin the facts to serve your agenda. Anyone with any basic knowledge about sports marketing knows that announced attendance -- especially at US soccer games is rarely accurate. The announced paid attendance includes a signficant number of corporate & comp sponsor tickets distorting actual attendance figures. There are a lot of fans disguised as empty seats at RSL games and it's not likely to improve with the pathetic quality of play from RSL and its revolving personnel door. Soccer may have a huge global following, but that doesn't translate to most US markets including Utah. With economic conditions as they are, this is neither the time nor the place for a pro soccer team with the huge added baggage of a mandated specialized stadium that is a waste of land & resources. Wake up, indeed!

Oh, how I wonder... | 5:34 p.m. April 30, 2008

I wonder when people will realize that money that came from the transient taxes has nothing to do with them. That money is not from Utah tax payers, unless you have been staying in a lot of hotels lately.

Get Real | 5:55 p.m. April 30, 2008

Too late. The rest of the country got a pretty good take on the foolish factor when the team was named Real Salt Lake. How embarrassing.

Why Soccer? | 7:42 p.m. April 30, 2008

I would be a lot more willing if maybe we had a pro team football team. Soccer is over rated. Now we have to pay for some bogus stadium when ReAL will be gone in a few years.

Boring! | 7:44 p.m. April 30, 2008

Maybe Gov. Huntsman should donate his millions to this!
After all he's the one that got us back in this mess!!!

Gus | 7:52 p.m. April 30, 2008

Finally, a conservative who knows how to keep the citizens' check book closed!

Hurray!

No hay de que! | 8:59 p.m. April 30, 2008

Narrow,

I feel comfortable because I live by principal, not popularity contests i.e. I don't care what the rest of this country thinks of Utah. I'm not on meth or anti-depressants. I don't tailgate, have one wife, love being friends with non-mormons, am not involved in an MLM or real estate scam.

I appreciate the good things about Utah and love cycling in the mountains.

My feelings will not be hurt when REAL turns out to be a big fracaso and laughing stock.

Curt Bramble | 9:35 p.m. April 30, 2008

Don't worry about a thing Dave, the legislature will call a special session. With blessings from Governor Huntsman, the First Presidency, and Sandy (Bonus Baby)City, and Senator Buttars (my dear friend). This deal will get done. Who knows maybe we can get you on the payroll at Sandy City and get you a bonus check.
Soccer rocks!
Pete C. is a party pooper.

Wake Up! | 10:11 p.m. April 30, 2008

Soccer's not a sport? Try telling that to the other 6 billion people that share this world with us. It is actually the only world wide sport out there. It's incredible to me that people can be so caught up in their own bubble and not even realize that there are other people living beyond their front yard and maybe even (heaven forbid) outside of Salt Lake County. The stupidest part of this whole thing is that Mayor Corroon is still bitter that he didn't stop the stadium before it started so he's trying to kill it when it's almost done. It's the classic formula of a poor loser. Here's a radical new idea, what if you soccer/RSL/anything that doesn't sit and feed you haters try and support something(RSL) instead of just shooting everything down. I'm sure that you are the same people that sit around in your close homogenous "liberal" groups and talk about how everything in the world sucks. This sould be seen as a great opportunity.
Anyway just a thought from someone that actually tries to do something with his life.

Send it back to Missouri | 11:20 p.m. April 30, 2008

Dave Checketts was considering doing this in Missouri first, but then took this to Utah. I will tell you, he has done wonders for the St Louis Blues, well they actually had a terrible year this year, but they have filled the seats again. It takes time to get things going, but it is so worth it. Missouri has two professional football teams, two baseball teams, and the hockey team, I moved out here and fell in love with sports again.

Re: anonymous | 11:58 p.m. April 30, 2008

Great! We will wait for your check! I got news for you pal! According to the IRS, unless you are in the upper 20% of income earners in this country, you are paying less than 5% of the taxes, part of which goes to support the war. Also, all branches of the armed services exceeded their enlistment goals again in 2007. Those who volunteer for the military know they will probably serve in Iraq or Afganistan, but they enlist anyway. Obviously none of these young men and women are liberals,and since you are not in the military and since you probably are not in the upper 20% of income earners, YOU ARE NOT SUPPORTING THE WAR!
What has the war got to do with a soccer stadium anyway? We are waiting for your check!

Soccer is so boring | 12:06 a.m. May 1, 2008

I'll say it again.
I need soccer like I need David Archuleta's singing.
All you soccer lovers need to pay whatever ticket price it takes to pay all the costs of the stadium.
If that is $500 a ticket, pay it.

ManInTheKnow | 10:07 a.m. May 1, 2008

Wake Up Folks!

It's obvious no one has taken the time to drive by the stadium site lately. The stadium is well over 60% complete with hundreds of craftworkers onsite everyday. The banter between SL County and Sandy City is entertaining at best. It is time to recognize the benefits the stadium and the surrounding developments will bring to the citizens of Sandy and SL County.

Anonymous | 11:19 a.m. May 1, 2008

And since it is almost complete, wouldn't that be a huge waste to stop building it all together and just let it sit there for no purpose? Yeah, that makes sense.

Waste of time | 1:15 p.m. May 1, 2008

Wah, Wah, sniff, sniff.

Is this complaining supposed to make me feel better?

I don't get it haters...move on, RSL is here to stay.

There, I too can post a pointless comment that will waste youre time.

Love, Coach Kreis

Look beyond your mountains. | 11:01 p.m. May 1, 2008

I live in Missouri and I've been following RSL since the beginning. I have to say soccer haters are really ignorant in Utah. Wah wah wah, my tax dollars, wah wah wah please no soccer in Utah, wah wah wah I read soccer articles because i hate it so much, get over it, soccer will not go away.

Dave from Shrewsbury, England | 1:18 p.m. May 2, 2008

The eyes of the world will soon be focused on RSL when you open your beautiful stadium, not just America as it would be with one of your domestic sports. I am releived this public outcry from the ignorant sections of your society is happening when its far too late to prevent the project being triumphantly completed. American sports suck!

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