Real Salt Lake investor/operator Dave Checketts has a vision.
He sees a weeklong festival of activities centered around the appearance of Real Madrid in Utah, highlighted by a match between the two teams and a ceremony in which David Beckham breaks ground on the Major League Soccer team's very own stadium.
Of course, a few things need to take place first. Before Real Madrid can come to Utah, they need to finish at least second in Spain's La Liga. And before Real Salt Lake can break ground on a soccer-specific stadium in the Salt Lake County suburb of Sandy, Checketts must secure some public financing.
At a press conference Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Real's current home venue, Checketts shared his vision and reassured Utah soccer fans the team is not going anywhere and is committed to building a soccer-specific stadium of its own. The conference was in response to a decision made Wednesday by Salt Lake County mayor Peter Corroon denying Real the public money it needed from a proposed hotel tax to build the stadium.
"I see this as a bump in the road, not a dam," Checketts said. "We are going forward as if we are going to break ground in August."
Corroon's decision Wednesday forced many Utahns to question if Real would relocate to another city more willing to build a stadium. The team's original plan, with the support of Salt Lake County's hotel tax money, was to begin building the stadium before the end of the summer.
The stadium was to be part of a larger sports and entertainment complex in Sandy, estimated to cost $145 million. Checketts said he has secured all the private financing he needs (upwards of $90 million) to build the complex, and that he needs public monies for infrastructure improvements first.
"This has to have some sort of public-private partnership in order to work," Checketts said. Critics of such partnerships, Checketts said, have not stopped similar developments in Utah before.
"That didn't stop us from building Olympic venues, and it didn't stop us from building the Delta Center or Franklin-Covey Field or the E Center," Checketts said. "I don't want to own this team anywhere else; I have no desire to move it. We are a long, long way from throwing in the towel, and moving the team would mean we are throwing in the towel."
In addition to securing the private funding he needs for a soccer-specific stadium, Checketts also has brokered a deal with Real Madrid. Should the internationally-known team finish first or second in its division, the team has agreed to visit Utah for a week and face Real Salt Lake in a game on Aug. 12.
"I hope the whole state of Utah will start cheering for Real Madrid," Checketts said.
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
