Backers of a planned Salt Lake City youth sports complex, one that has received RSL's financial support, are hoping the county will step in to help plug a possible $7 million funding gap and perhaps run and maintain the site, which would boast 24 soccer-lacrosse-or-rugby fields, eight baseball/softball diamonds and a 7,500-seat championship field.

"I'm a big supporter of soccer," says Corroon, whose rejection of a plan to steer $35 million of county hotel taxes to RSL's Sandy stadium was overturned by the Legislature last year. "It's a great project [the youth fields], and we'd like to see it go forward."

He's not sure whether that would mean a cash contribution, a maintenance agreement or both. There is no formal commitment yet.

In 2003, Salt Lake City voters approved a $15.3 million bond for a 180-acre regional athletic complex to be built near 2000 North and Interstate 215. RSL chipped in $7.5 million last year, one of the strings attached to its stadium subsidy.

David Everitt, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker's chief of staff, says the city has ditched a scaled-back plan and returned to the larger project originally approved by voters. That could cost $35 million to $40 million to build.

"It's been sitting for too long, and we really want to get this thing moving forward," he says. "We welcome the county's involvement."

Dave Spatafore, co-chairman of the Salt Lake Regional Athletics Complex Authority, the nonprofit group pushing the project, expects tournament parking fees and ticket surcharges for games played on the championship field to generate $7 million toward the construction tab.

Naming rights and corporate sponsorships could snag another $3 million to $4 million. That leaves a $6 million to $7 million hole if the complex costs $40 million.

"We're hoping [the county] will pick up the ball . . . and run with it," Spatafore says. "There are not enough facilities for our kids to play soccer, lacrosse and rugby."

Salt Lake City, although not planning to pitch in any more capital costs, has tapped former Utah Jazz President Dennis Haslam to spearhead efforts to wrap up the project, which could open as soon as 2010 if funding falls into place. The city also is soliciting applications from potential operators, but that doesn't preclude the county from taking the job, Everitt says.

Corroon says the county, which manages dozens of recreation centers and more than 100 parks, would "feel comfortable" taking on operation of the expansive complex. He likes that it's "not only good for the youth," but also also "good for economic development."

"When we can bring in large tournaments. Thousands of young kids and their families come," he says. "They spend money, and that helps us financially."

rwinters@sltrib.com

What about RSL's soccer academy?

An elite soccer academy will be sculpting the minds and bodies of promising young athletes in 2010, Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts said recently in an interview.

Checketts wants RSL's academy built in Salt Lake City, but the team's $45 million stadium deal with the state and Sandy requires only that one be built in Utah. The franchise has been eyeing Salt Lake City's planned youth sports complex as a likely site. There, the team could take advantage of practice fields and a 7,500-seat venue.

The academy, which would receive support from soccer powerhouse Real Madrid, needs to be "up and running in some form in 2010" to keep RSL "competitive," Checketts said. The facility would house 200 to 300 soccer recruits, ages 12 to 17, from around the world and provide a high school education. RSL would have first rights to players it develops.

- Rosemary Winters