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You've been planning the death of Real Salt Lake from jump street! 
Oh well in way it is almost karma for the way MLS orchestrated that Freddy trade to real salt lake for the specific purpose of getting the stadium secured.
Speaking of Salt Lake will Andy be with them at the start of the season? - T.K.
Is pro soccer dead in Utah?
Posted: 2 hours ago
Real Salt Lake fans must be wondering what's going on.
Owner-operator Dave Checketts has announced he will sell the team after the club was denied public money to build a new stadium in Sandy with a county debt review committee judging that the team's finances were precarious.
Even the team's capture of marquee name Freddy Adu in the offseason was not enough to sway lawmakers.
Sandy Mayor Peter Corroon told reporters that he could not justify spending money on the arena, saying that it was "gambling with taxpayers' dollars."
"The project as presented does not demonstrate that it is clearly financially viable," said Corroon in a prepared statement. "While I respect the experience of Dave Checketts in sports management and event promotion, even fairly optimistic but realistic projections show that the team would lose money."
MLS commissioner Don Garber has previously said that the team would not be able to survive without a dedicated stadium, and was quoted in the local press as saying that there were many other cities angling for an MLS team.
MLS spokesman Dan Courtemanche said league officials were not immediately available for comment.
The move effectively ended a two-and-a-half year campaign to build what would have been a $110m soccer stadium in the city of Sandy. It may also end professional soccer in Utah.
Checketts announced on a local radio station Monday afternoon that he would "have a buyer for the team by Friday."
Two MLS teams have changed hands recently. Earlier this year, D.C. United was sold by owners AEG for $33 million to a group controlled by Victor McFarlane that includes San Francisco Giants part-owner Will Chang and two former Duke basketball stars, Brian Davis and Christian Laettner.
The Hunt family sold the Kansas City Wizards to a local group, OnGoal, last year in a deal reported at $30 million. Both these teams have struggled to get new arenas built, with Kansas City seeing a plan to build youth soccer fields, that would have aided a potential stadium, killed at the ballot box.
Today's move came after a Salt Lake County debt review committee shot down a proposal to give some $30 million to fund infrastructure for the new arena, concluding unanimously that the projections and financial documents supplied by the team were overly optimistic.
County auditor Jeff Hatch told the Salt Lake Tribune Monday that: "I really don't think [RSL] has a viable model to finance it," pointing to the little cash the team had on hand and severe differences in budget projections. RSL had projected strong growth, forecasting a profit of $5.5 million by 2013 in documents made available to the public in what was a first for an MLS team. MLS has jealously guarded all financial details from its inception.
However, the Salt Lake County auditors projected a $9 million loss by 2013 and questioned whether or not the arena could stage as many concerts and other events as RSL's projections assumed. Adding to the stadium's financial woes was the revelation that the $15 million promised by the city of Sandy itself might not be available.
RSL had been one of the bright spots for MLS in its two-year history, with strong attendance at Rice-Eccles Stadium despite a woeful record on the field. Although finishing last in the West at 10-13-9, RSL averaged 16,366 fans a match, outdrawing seven of MLS' 12 teams. The league's attendance average for 2006 was 15,504.
Oh well in way it is almost karma for the way MLS orchestrated that Freddy trade to real salt lake for the specific purpose of getting the stadium secured.
Speaking of Salt Lake will Andy be with them at the start of the season? - T.K.
Is pro soccer dead in Utah?
Posted: 2 hours ago
Real Salt Lake fans must be wondering what's going on.
Owner-operator Dave Checketts has announced he will sell the team after the club was denied public money to build a new stadium in Sandy with a county debt review committee judging that the team's finances were precarious.
Even the team's capture of marquee name Freddy Adu in the offseason was not enough to sway lawmakers.
Sandy Mayor Peter Corroon told reporters that he could not justify spending money on the arena, saying that it was "gambling with taxpayers' dollars."
"The project as presented does not demonstrate that it is clearly financially viable," said Corroon in a prepared statement. "While I respect the experience of Dave Checketts in sports management and event promotion, even fairly optimistic but realistic projections show that the team would lose money."
MLS commissioner Don Garber has previously said that the team would not be able to survive without a dedicated stadium, and was quoted in the local press as saying that there were many other cities angling for an MLS team.
MLS spokesman Dan Courtemanche said league officials were not immediately available for comment.
The move effectively ended a two-and-a-half year campaign to build what would have been a $110m soccer stadium in the city of Sandy. It may also end professional soccer in Utah.
Checketts announced on a local radio station Monday afternoon that he would "have a buyer for the team by Friday."
Two MLS teams have changed hands recently. Earlier this year, D.C. United was sold by owners AEG for $33 million to a group controlled by Victor McFarlane that includes San Francisco Giants part-owner Will Chang and two former Duke basketball stars, Brian Davis and Christian Laettner.
The Hunt family sold the Kansas City Wizards to a local group, OnGoal, last year in a deal reported at $30 million. Both these teams have struggled to get new arenas built, with Kansas City seeing a plan to build youth soccer fields, that would have aided a potential stadium, killed at the ballot box.
Today's move came after a Salt Lake County debt review committee shot down a proposal to give some $30 million to fund infrastructure for the new arena, concluding unanimously that the projections and financial documents supplied by the team were overly optimistic.
County auditor Jeff Hatch told the Salt Lake Tribune Monday that: "I really don't think [RSL] has a viable model to finance it," pointing to the little cash the team had on hand and severe differences in budget projections. RSL had projected strong growth, forecasting a profit of $5.5 million by 2013 in documents made available to the public in what was a first for an MLS team. MLS has jealously guarded all financial details from its inception.
However, the Salt Lake County auditors projected a $9 million loss by 2013 and questioned whether or not the arena could stage as many concerts and other events as RSL's projections assumed. Adding to the stadium's financial woes was the revelation that the $15 million promised by the city of Sandy itself might not be available.
RSL had been one of the bright spots for MLS in its two-year history, with strong attendance at Rice-Eccles Stadium despite a woeful record on the field. Although finishing last in the West at 10-13-9, RSL averaged 16,366 fans a match, outdrawing seven of MLS' 12 teams. The league's attendance average for 2006 was 15,504.
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