There will plenty of parking for REAL games. Nothing to worry about.
Even those that LIKE Soccer aren't going to waste the gas it takes to drive there.

Fewer dedicated paved lots allow more of the land to resold at a REAL profit for all the mixed-used development Checketts & Dolan are hoping will cluster around the stadium. If you can't make money off a decent team, then why not try and break even with mixed-use development.

Yes, attendance has been a little disappointing. But RSL's games are a lot of fun. A soccer-specific stadium will only improve the atmosphere at those games. I think they'll experience increased attendance.

By the way, is anyone else tired of cynical cracks about RSL? That team will benefit the community if we get behind them. In my opinion, we're lucky to have them.

Attendance has been disappointing? Well, maybe for last night's game (as it typically is for midweek games). But being 3rd in the league in attendance is hardly disappointing - quite exciting, actually. The crowds have been great this year.

I used to work in the vicinity of 90th south. It took 15-20 minutes just to travel a few blocks to get on the freeway. It will be twice as bad on game nights. Sandy does not have the infrastructure to accomodate these games and build itself into a new downtown.

Master Planner: As a property owner near the Stadium, I can tell you that the only property ReAL owns is where the stadium sits. I'm tired of people assuming ReAL owns my land!

90th South Interchange: Took me 45 mins to get from the Delta Center to 5th South after a Jazz game. SLC isn't much better.

So what your saying is that when REAL soccer fails in Utah it will be because the community didn't get behind them? MAybe that's because teh community that would supportt hem is a small community and theis was a bad idea in the first place.

The whole "If you build it they will come" mentality is misguided and only works for dead baseball players in Iowa! If the fans aren't supporting the team now, I don't think that's a good sign.

And Third place attendance numbers means that you REALly need help. Third place is second place loser.

Wow a lot of money being wasted on asphalt. What are they going to do with all that parking and a vacant stadium in five years when RSL folds.

Wow, that was original. The ol' "5 years will fold comment."

Thanks for the refreshing post.

Go BYU

Utefan, I'd be more worried about Ute football folding in 5 years, since RSL's attendance numbers are better than Ute football's.

I live a street over from the new stadium and I am NOT looking forward to the future traffic jams! The stadium sticks out like a sore thumb!~

simple solution... move
heck, if you wanna get out so bad trade me houses

It looks like there are 1 or 2 soccer-haters that post on every single RSL article. Nice. I have copied the hater comments into a single document for analysis, and multiple posts with multiple names for a single article all have the same problems with spelling, sentance structure, etc.

Why is it that anytime anyone opposes anything, someone thinks the solution is to move? This is such a lame comment. C'mon people, get original!

Parking on Jordan School District land?? Isn't Sandy part of the new (currently un-named and soon to start up) school district that has split from Jordan?

....I would say more like a Diamond in the rough.

You don't know the team will fail, so you and other anti-soccer people should stop parroting that in every RSL thread/board/feedback.

Real's fans ARE supporting the team, it's those like you who are not.

I don't go to many games mostly because I'm lazy and don't want to drive up to the UofU. Now that it will be much closer to my home I may go to more games. But just because a person doesn't go to a team's games doesn't mean they aren't "supporting" them. Look at the Jazz... the majority of their fans probably stick to watching the games on TV.

RSL being 3rd BEST in attendance in the league doesn't mean they need serious help. How do you figure that? It means they are doing better than the majority of the other teams in the league.

Those who hate soccer so much should really stop reading these articles and posting replies to them? Why waste your time on something you have no interest in?

Why another Soccer Stadium ? That seem kind of hopeless, to me, but Whatever Works, some people hat Soccer, To me it seems quite pointless to build another stadium when we arllready have Rice Eccles Stadium, Pointless.

I will say the hater posts help get more soccer coverage in the paper. Papers love a hot controversy!

So ha, ha, thanks for that!

Another soccer stadium? The RSL one in Sandy is our only one. Rice Eccles is built for football, not soccer and has artificial turf.

RSL (like the Jazz or any Professional sport team) want their own stadium/arena to play in. I don't see anyone complaining that the Grizzley's play in the E-Center rather than sharing Energy Solutions Arena.

Also, most pro-Soccer teams play on real grass not artificial turf... so RSL of course wants that and can get it (permanently, rather than ship it in for each game) in their own stadium... a stadium that is built with the proper sight lines to suit a soccer game.

Hey, good point JoeyT! The soccer and RSL stadium haters who feel it their duty to put down the sport and team are actually HELPING rather than hurting (and causing it to go away). :)

The media loves to poke at and fuel people of vocal opposing sides as it makes good press, sells papers... and in the process: free advertising.

So bring it on soccer haters... you're helping RSL out by making them more and more prominent in the public eye, thus sparking interest in the team and sport... raising awareness. :)

RSL articles have way more posts than the Blaze, Bees, and even Jazz combined. Must make RSL more popular. Thanks for contributing!

Haters: See you in 10 years at RSL Stadium when you finally figure the game out. Yes, it may take you 10 years, but you will finally get it. Some of us are just a bit quicker and have already gotten it.

In 5 years: those that are 10 will be 15, those that are 15 will be 20, and those that are 20 will be 25. The people that support soccer and will so are younger and show the sport will only grow in popularity over time.

Statistics show that the percentage of soccer players is increasing, while the percentage of baseball players is decreasing. Also, most baseball fans area also geriatrics. Go figure.

I live in the Historic Sandy neighborhood and will say that it is an EXAGGERATION and a LIE to claim that it takes 15-20 minutes to move only a few blocks to the freeway. This is one of many pieces of misinformation that people like to spread about Sandy.

*RSL fans* have it rough: not only do they get all of the the soccer haters that recycle the same garbage with each new article, but they also get all of the Sandy haters as well.

The stadium is looking great, and I welcome it to the neighborhood!

...so refreshingly simple. From SLC or 10000th south stop.

I have been a soccer fan in this country for about the last 20yrs. I have heard the same stupid arguments from "soccer naysayers" now for 20yrs. I have heard it all like: "The World Cup wont be attended by anyone" in the USA in 1994, "MLS will fold soon" in 1996-the inaugural year, "David Beckham wont make people like soccer in the US" in 2007, "The USA wont ever have a competitive National Team" in 1990, and now "the soccer stadium will be empty when RSL folds". Sorry, been hearing these stupid arguments for years and no one has been right about any of them because the fact is that more than enough people support soccer in this country. Sorry soccer-haters. Got news for you, the soccer-moms have taken over!

There's only 10-20 peoplein the entire state that like soccer. My guess is that most of the spots will remain empty.

A better use for the stadium would be a NFL franchise.

Here's an educational excercise for all you MLS supporters claiming the league is thriving, growing, and resonating with mainstream American sports fans & media:

Crack open today's USA Today sports section and count how many words are dedicated to MLS stories and coverage in the entire section. Heck, forget MLS, look at how much total coverage soccer received as a sport. Watch SportsCenter tonight and count how many MLS highlights and scores you see from around the country.

Take notes. There will be a pop quiz.

With only one game being yesterday (for the MLS) i doubt they would have much coverage today. Your request is like asking people to look in the paper for an NFL story on a wednesday, not going to be much.
Soccer overall, well you kind of shoot yourself in the foot there. Euro cup is going on so the Portugal vs Germany game yesterday, that regreatably germany won, will be covered and a story on the rest of the quater finals is sure to be included as well.
And SportsCenter, well top 10 plays almost always includes a goal or save whenver a tournament or high level of play in football (not throwball) is going on.
Its not there with mainstream sports in the US yet, nobody will argue with you there, but in the future you could see baseball, hockey for sure, basketball, and throwball having competition of football (soccer as you will know it).
If you hate so much, why bother posting on the real stories anyhow...?
You do realize by doing so you only creative advertisement and publicity, and we all know there is no such thing as "bad publicity"
so, in a way, thank you

well if you dont like where you live then move, how hard is that...
Its not rocket science, if a creature is not happy with its environment it does not try to change the environment, rather it finds an environment that better suits itself.

You're welcome, and I beg to differ. Even in the offseason (not to mention midweek) the national media covers NFL continuously with draft news, trades, and even rumors & scandal. Go ahead, look for yourself, NFL news all over USA Today. Even NHL got big coverage, and that season is over too. Face it, despite the name, MLS is NOT a major league sport in the U.S. because it doesn't have mainstream fan or media interest and, quite simply, it's boring to watch most of the time. I know, I know, it's a beautiful game if you understand it you will say. But most Americans don't and those sickening ties don't help. Sorry, me thinks Real Salt Lake & MLS days are numbered. But thanks for the new parking lot!

You seem to be confusing "growing" with "established." Of course there's a ton more coverage of the NFL over MLS. The NFL the 500 lb. gorilla in the US sports world, and has been for years, while MLS is still developing. But that's the point MLS supporters are trying to make: it's STILL DEVELOPING. The league is making steady progress - both financially and in the public consciousness - and has been for over a decade now.

Is MLS on par with the "Big Three" yet? Of course not. I don't think anyone's arguing that. But the league is slowly and steadily making inroads in the American sports market. To put it another way, you can't criticize a child for not being an adult.

P.S. The new stadium is the reason RSL will be staying rather than leaving. With you being such an expert on the American sports scene, I would think you would understand that's how these things work.

Where's the clear evidence that MLS popularity is growing among mainstream American sports fans then? Other than a spike in coverage when Beckham crossed the pond, I don't see any conclusive data to support the notion that the league is prospering or growing its fan base. Same thing happened when Pele played for Cosmos and it didn't help.

Evidence MLS is increasing in popularity:

According to pitchinvasion.net, from 1997-2007, MLS attendance increased from about 14500 to 16600. I deliberately omitted the 1996 season (MLS' first) because any new league's attendance figures are inflated due to curiosity; even the XFL had decent initial attendance. Also, 2006-2007 saw a dramatic decrease in matches with fewer than 10000 fans (19.5 and 8.5% vs. 28.1% in 2005).

The MLSZone quotes a SportsBusiness Journal article that states season-ticket sales in 2008 are up 18% from 2007. That's INCLUDING a 15% drop by Beckham's LA Galaxy. Add to that a 15000-person season-ticket list in Seattle (according to the team's website), and it's obvious soccer is at least starting to catch on.

Then consider the financial gains MLS is making, which will only increase its cachet. MLS' early jersey sponsors included smaller companies like Xango, Herbalife, and Comex. Now, MLS' sponsors include Best Buy, Volkswagen, Microsoft, and Red Bull. Obviously, these companies see growth in MLS, and their involvement with the league will only increase its viability as a major sports league, and more fans will come if they see the league is legit.

Enough evidence for you?

Also, using the NASL to predict MLS' demise is a fool's game. The NASL, like most new leagues, expanded far too quickly (Wikipedia lists some 40 teams throughout the NASL's history), teams hemorrhaged money trying to bring in talented European players at the expense of home-grown talent, and the league tried to experiment with Americanizing the game, which turned off traditional fans while simultaneously failing to bring in new fans.

MLS, on the other hand, is being much more careful with its expansion plans. By 2010, it will have 16 teams, as opposed to about 24 teams around the same time in the NASL's existence. Also, even with the Designated Player rule, MLS is focused on the American soccer player (only 8 foreign players per team). And MLS has realized that the growth of the league starts with the traditional fan, so the league's rules are more in line with the rest of the world - no shootouts to break ties, tweaks to the offside rule, or downward-counting clocks. And MLS has done all this while making financial gains at the same time the NASL was losing money hand over fist.

Impressive, but I can Google too. From MLS Reports:

Nearly 600,000 free tickets were distributed last season, or an average of 3,090 per match. The Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake each gave out more than 9,000 freebies to a single match, and three other clubs handed out 7,000-plus. In one early-season FC Dallas match against Colorado, 1,259 tickets were sold and 7,347 were comps.

On average, announced attendance was 9 percent higher than the total number of tickets distributed and at some games close to 50 percent higher despite MLS' stated policy of using tickets distributed to determine its announced attendance figures.

Somehow I don't imagine any other so-called major league sports are handing out 9,000 free tix per game, er match.

To quoteth the Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give it away, Give it away, Give it away, now!

Interesting, except you fail to mention that the San Diego Union-Tribune article you cite states that every league counts free tickets in their attendance figures. If you think 15000 people actually pay to watch (or even bother attending) a midweek Florida Marlins game, you're delusional. Even the NFL has to give away tickets to avoid local blackouts. Minor League Baseball gives away stacks of free tickets every day. To assume MLS is unique in this regard is naive.

Besides, the issue isn't whether or not those tickets are free or paid; the issue is attendance. If the free tickets are being used, all that does is prove that there's interest (which is what you wanted evidence of in the first place). Granted, MLS has to now convert those free-ticket users into paying customers, but if the interest is actually there, this should be an attainable enough goal. It may take a while, but this is still a developing league.

If they're attending (paying or not), they're interested. More attendance equals more interest. Simple enough?

Beyond all the flaming going on between soccer lovers and haters, I do find this an interesting debate. Based on the information here, if Real and other MLS teams are inflating actual attendance figures (regardless of the percentage), then a credibility issue arises with the business plan. As a Sandy resident watching this unfold in our backyard, I can't help wonder why MLS teams don't just continue playing in the college and NFL stadiums until they prove demand to expand by selling out those venues on a regular basis?