Real Salt Lake President Bill Manning Thursday announced that the team's new Stadium, the state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue in Sandy, Utah, will host a USA Rugby doubleheader featuring teams from New Zealand, Uruguay and the United States on Saturday, November 8.
The day of rugby kicks off at 1:15 p.m. MT with the U.S. Select XV Team versus New Zealand Heartland. The main event, which will boast the United States and Uruguay National Teams, will kick off at 4:00 p.m. MT.
"We are extremely delighted to have USA Rugby as one of our first guests at the new Stadium in Sandy," said Manning. "The sport of rugby has always enjoyed a strong following in our state, and we are excited to showcase this venue as a home for another U.S. National Team, not only for this match, but for years to come."
Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer opens the venue on Thursday, October 9, with its final two 2008 regular-season games - Thursday, October 9 vs. New York (8:00 p.m. MT) and Saturday, October 18 vs. FC Dallas (7:00 p.m. MT) - with today's USA Rugby announcement marking the second non-soccer event to be unveiled for the Stadium in the last two weeks, as the Sandy venue will host the Fifth Annual Zions Bank Top of the Mountains Bowl, slated for Saturday, December 6, 2008, at 12:00 noon MT.
"Having the opportunity to play two games in a great stadium brings added value to the experience," USA Rugby CEO and President of Rugby Nigel Melville said. "When I visited Utah earlier this year, the community was extremely passionate about the sport and keen to host this match. Considering the amount of National Team members that have come out of this area and the amount of support from their rugby community, it goes without saying that we would be extremely interested in developing a strong relationship with Real Salt Lake and its beautiful new Stadium."
Tickets to the USA Rugby doubleheader begin at $15 (end zone seating); other categories are $25 (lower sideline), $40 (VIP) and $75 (premium), and go on sale to the general public on Friday, September 19. In the meantime, please visit www.usarugby.org/goto/usa_doubleheader for more information on the matches. For more information on the Stadium or for ticket information, please visit www.RSLstadium.com or call 801-924-8585. Prior to the event being on public sale, Real Salt Lake season ticket holders as well as USA Rugby members will have an exclusive window to purchase their respective seats for this event.
