Real Salt Lake develops unprecedented partnership with Utah Youth Soccer Association

SALT LAKE CITY - Real Salt Lake today announced its partnership with Utah Youth Soccer Association (UYSA), the state's largest soccer organization, and agreed to jointly manage and monitor the development of youth soccer in Utah. The first step in the cooperative agreement is the clearing of the UYSA schedule for all state games in all divisions on Saturday, April 16, to allow the entire Utah youth soccer community the opportunity to participate in the festivities leading up to and following Real Salt Lake's historic inaugural home game.

"The partnership between UYSA and Real Salt Lake is truly a breakthrough," said RSL General Manager Steve Pastorino. "UYSA has been the destination for youth soccer development throughout its 30-year history. We expect to be a catalyst for the next generation of soccer players in Utah, and our home opener provides the perfect setting for these 30,000 kids to begin to learn from and emulate Jason Kreis, Eddie Pope, Clint Mathis and the rest of our team."

RSL will sponsor the UYSA and the youth organization will be designated as a "Youth Soccer Partner" to Real Salt Lake. In addition, RSL will sponsor the Saturday luncheon at UYSA's Annual General Meeting and have agreed to jointly create a coaches corner where Assistant Coach Peter Mellor will work in conjunction with UYSA State Technical Director Greg Maas on a coaches association. In a separate announcement on Tuesday, Maas was named Real Salt Lake's radio color analyst for all 32 regular-season home and away games to be broadcast across the Wasatch Front on 1280 KZNS "The Zone" Sports Radio.

"I am pleased to announce our partnership with Real Salt Lake," said UYSA President Leisa Vineyard. "The Association truly feels that our players at every level will benefit from this opportunity to have world-class professional soccer in our backyard 365 days a year for decades to come. In honor of this momentous occasion, we have suspended all state competition play for opening day on April 16. I encourage all members of our Association, including our leagues and districts, to attend if possible. We as an Association felt this would be the best way to honor such a historic event, as this is absolutely a once in a lifetime experience for our players and their families."

Real Salt Lake will promote and support the Olympic Development Program (ODP) by providing overall technical assistance, administrative support and by allowing the RSL logo to be used on jerseys. The final point of the partnership is that RSL will provide UYSA will two sponsors.

Founded more than thirty years ago, UYSA is the state's largest soccer organization. It serves as the governing body for youth soccer in Utah on behalf of the United States Soccer Federation. UYSA is recognized by the U.S. Soccer Federation and the U.S. Olympic Committee as the governing body for youth soccer in the state of Utah.

RSL ON KSL FIVE TIMES IN 2005: Real Salt Lake's first-ever game will be broadcast regionally on KSL 5 TV Saturday night from Giants Stadium. With a 30-minute season preview pre-game show kicking off at 6:30 p.m. MT, the two-hour game telecast is the first of five games committed to KSL 5 TV during Real Salt Lake's inaugural season. The complete RSL on KSL 5 TV schedule for 2005 follows:

SINGLE-GAME TICKETS NOW ON SALE: Real Salt Lake single-game tickets for its inaugural 2005 season at Rice-Eccles Stadium went on sale Saturday both online and at the University of Utah Ticket Office, located at the Stadium's south end. Individual game prices are $14 for north goal, $18 for corner flag, $25 for premier east and $32 for VIP west. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Utah Ticket Office at 451 South 1400 East, by logging onto www.utahtickets.com or by contacting the Ticket Office at (801) 581-UTIX.

Season ticket packages for RSL's inaugural 2005 season at Rice-Eccles Stadium are now on sale. The RSL 2005 season ticket package features 21 games, including all 16 MLS regular season games, four special bonus games and the highly-anticipated U.S.-Costa Rica World Cup Qualifier on June 4. Real Salt Lake's season ticket pricing consist of Youth (15 and younger) and Adult in four price levels. Prices for the 2005 season ticket packages are $200 adult ($180 youth) for the North Goal, $300 adult ($240 youth) for the Corner Flag, $400 ($320 youth) for East Sideline and $500 ($400 youth) for VIP seats. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the RSL Ticket Office at 515 South 700 East, #2R, SLC, UT 84102, by logging onto www.RealSaltLake.com or by contacting the Real Salt Lake Ticket Office at (866) 9-SOCCER.

ACCESS REAL: Real fans can now receive up-to-date information on the team by signing up for the RSL Weekly Newsletter at the fans section of RealSaltLake.com. Log on to www.RealSaltLake.com, the official web site of Real Salt Lake, for the latest news and information, including updated schedules, ticket plans, roster information and RSL merchandise.