House Speaker Greg Curtis is drafting a bill to reshape the landscape of Salt Lake County, steering hotel tax slated for a suburban stadium either toward TRAX or the renovation of Hogle Zoo.

"I personally think soccer's dead," Curtis told The Salt Lake Tribune in a frank and free-wheeling interview Monday. "It's unfortunate. I'm simply saying, I'm moving forward to reallocate the tax."

The influential Sandy Republican says repeated delays by Salt Lake County politicians and soccer burnout on Capitol Hill has compelled the one-time Real Salt Lake stadium driver to move on.

Another reason: Curtis' stunningly close re-election, which he says critics twisted into a referendum on the stadium project. He won in November by only 20 votes.

"I was in a dog fight," he conceded. "I was told at the time, 'Curtis is gone, Real is dead, and it's a glorious time in Salt Lake County. I made the decision at the time. . . . I am not going to run legislation and continue this fight.' ''

Instead, Curtis has drafted a bill for next week's legislative session - language is still being finalized - that is designed to redirect hotel tax planned for RSL's $110 million stadium toward a TRAX line to the airport.

The funding would be necessary for the Utah Transit Authority, Curtis says, should the Legislature agree to remove the sales tax on food - which Curtis supports - thus stripping funding for UTA's light-rail expansion plans.

If the food measure fails, the speaker intends to direct the county's 1.25 percent hotel tax, authorized in 2006 ostensibly for a stadium, to the expansion and renovation of Hogle Zoo instead. Curtis also wants some $20 million in hotel tax to pay for parking at the South Towne Expo Center, as first directed by state lawmakers in 2005.

To be sure, the stadium saga has been on a back-and-forth track for the past year. It appeared buried last spring only to be revived last summer following an 11th-hour summit of Utah's political elite.

Late Monday, insiders said they could not be sure whether the speaker's move was genuine - or a political power play on the eve of the 2007 session.

"It's not dead for us," said Doug Willmore, county Mayor Peter Corroon's chief administrative officer. "We're going to continue to go down the methodical approach that the mayor laid out and see where it leads us."

Willmore went on to point out Curtis said last year there was no quid pro quo from the Legislature on how to spend the hotel tax. "We take him at his word."

Corroon is out of town on personal business. RSL officials could not be reached for reaction.

Late Monday, RSL owner Dave Checketts was on a plane headed to Salt Lake City. But his mission: meet with the editorial boards of both daily newspapers today, not the politicians debating soccer. His plane is due to fly out at 5:15 p.m., according to team spokesman Eric Gelfand, who said he was "unaware" of any other meetings scheduled by Checketts.

Before leaving for Utah, Gelfand stressed RSL is "100 percent focused on finalizing our deal" with the county.

"We have every reason to believe that's going to get done."

Curtis' declaration surprised county leaders, who are waiting for a financial project review to be completed by an independent, Los Angeles-based sports consultant before making a decision. The report is expected about the same time the Legislature convenes Jan. 15. After that, the county's Debt Review Committee must do its analysis, which Willmore says could take 30 days, relegating it to the waning weeks of the Legislature.

County Councilman Mark Crockett was somewhat skeptical of Curtis' move, noting he's heard signals of the stadium's death "a few times before."

"If he means it," Crockett said about shifting the hotel tax toward TRAX or the zoo, "I'm in. This would be a much higher priority."

Councilman Joe Hatch said save for "a little bit of puffery," Curtis' alternatives sound "pretty rational."

"I'd rather have sales tax off food than soccer any day," Hatch said.

And Councilwoman Jenny Wilson said it is "premature for anyone on the Hill to think the county is not willing to move forward."

Curtis insists he told officials from UTA, the Salt Lake Chamber and Checketts about his bill in early December.

Checketts "disagrees with me that it's dead," Curtis said. "Nobody ever cares what my opinion is but for six weeks a year. Otherwise, I'm just another political hack."

Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan said he shares Curtis' dismay over the county's progress.

"It's been exceptionally slow. I've been more than frustrated," Dolan said. "We thought we had an understanding, an agreement with the county . . . a year ago."

Dolan hopes the county will determine the deal meets financial muster before Curtis amends the hotel-room tax. But without county participation, he acknowledges the deal is dead.

"It only works if the county participates."

Curtis is not sure the county is serious about approving the project.

"It's laying there on life support. They're just waiting until after the session to pull the plug. After this session, I don't ever want to hear the word 'soccer' again."

djensen@sltrib.com

rwinters@sltrib.com