Real Salt Lake expects close to 5,000 cars to cruise to the Oct. 9 debut match at its 20,000-seat soccer stadium next week in Sandy.
But team officials say there is plenty of parking to go around. Property owners near 9256 S. State St. have ponied up 6,500 stalls, through formal agreements, and even more may offer their spots for a price on game days.
RSL President Bill Manning expects a sharp learning curve for fans during the first few events at newly christened Rio Tinto Stadium. He noted that early games at Houston's Toyota Center, home to the Houston Rockets, were rife with traffic jams that later evaporated.
"We have plenty of parking, but we do expect there's going to be some congestion," Manning said. "We're expecting the worst but hoping for the best."
RSL's traffic engineer, Ryan Hales, projects 10 percent of attendees will arrive via TRAX, which stops near 9000 South, 9400 South and 10000 South along 200 East.
Motorists will hop off Interstate 15 at the 9000 South or 10600 South exits.
Pre-paid parking passes for 1,000 slots at the nearby South Towne Expo Center can be purchased online at www.riotintostadium.com for $5. Cash lots surrounding the stadium will cost $8.
There are 11 free public-parking lots - including the 10000 South TRAX station, Sandy City Hall, South Towne Center mall and Jordan High - within a 10- to 20-minute walk from the stadium that will be served by a free shuttle service during stadium events.
Stadium visitors are not allowed to park on residential streets. RSL plans to post temporary signs in neighborhoods to ward off event parking. But some enterprising homeowners might allow motorists to pull into their driveways for cash.
Lorraine Griffin, who lives near 200 East and 9700 South, won't be one of them. She plans to call the police if any unauthorized cars park on her street for next week's game.
"It's going to be an absolute disaster as far as parking is concerned," she said. "Why [RSL] couldn't build a parking structure at the same they were building the stadium is beyond me."
The franchise, which has 631 stalls on-site - those spaces are reserved for athletes, staffers and VIPs - has to have 2,000 on-site parking stalls in the next two years under its agreement with Sandy and Utah for $45 million of public funds.
RSL takes on the New York Red Bulls on Oct. 9 in a nationally televised match from the new $110 million Rio Tinto Stadium. Manning expects the game, which has fewer than 3,000 tickets left, to sell out by Tuesday.
