Instead, the problem may be pollution.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Lohra Miller surprised the Salt Lake County Council on Tuesday when she announced that part of the land designated for the $110 million stadium may be tainted by petroleum, oil and other waste.

The county must resolve the pollution question before it can issue bonds for stadium infrastructure near 9400 South State. Miller said it is too early to tell if the contamination is extensive - requiring an expensive cleanup - or a hurdle that can be cleared easily.

A 1,000-gallon underground petroleum storage tank is located on the south end of the property, according to a study by Sandy-based Applied Geotechnical Engineering Consultants, P.C., which was commissioned by Real Salt Lake.

Waste-oil storage drums also were stored on the property, and construction debris and other trash were dumped there, according to the July 2005 report.

The construction debris may not pose a major environmental barrier, said Dennis Downs, director of the state Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste.

"But if there were hazardous waste, that would be a problem," he said.

The underground tank may be more worrisome, said Paul Zahn, manager in the leaking underground storage tank program for the state Division of Environmental Response and Remediation.

First, the tank must be removed, he explained. Then soils must be tested to see if significant pollutants escaped into soils and groundwater. Cleanup could run from a few thousand dollars into the millions.

Doug Willmore, the county's chief administrative officer, notes that as part of the land deal, county officials want RSL to indemnify them against any future environmental problems.

"They said 'no,' they're not willing to," Willmore said. "It's just one of those negotiation points that we can't solve."

Under the proposed agreement with RSL, the county would own the land where the stadium would sit.

The pollution disclosure is a speed bump the stadium proposal didn't need, said Councilman Jim Bradley.

"It will take time to assess," he said. "If it's true [that there is environmental pollution], then we'll have to take remedial action, and that doesn't happen overnight."

csmart@sltrib.com

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* Tribune reporter DEREK P. JENSEN contributed to this story.