"You couldn't help but be impressed," said City Councilman Steve Fairbanks, who joined Mayor Tom Dolan, Real Salt Lake insiders, developers and four fellow council members in a Wednesday tour of Pizza Hut Park in a Dallas suburb. "Going to Frisco [Texas] has given us a longer-range vision. We can see it really is a good project."

So which features stood out, which ones might soccer fans see incorporated in a Sandy stadium?

Start with the sight lines.

"When you leave for a soda or a hot dog, you're never out of the action," RSL spokesman Tom Love said about Frisco's strategically placed concessions.

Sandy council members, who hold a $15 million purse string slated for RSL's planned $100 million venue, also raved about a permanent stage as key to drawing major concerts. And they hailed the 17 soccer fields in the Frisco stadium's shadow, including one reserved just for schools, as a boon for kids across the community.

"I've been supportive in general," Councilman Chris McCandless said Thursday. "Now I'm concrete."

The day tour - 11 city leaders hopped a private plane provided by Layton Construction for about $10,000 - gave the group an inside look at the infrastructure and financing of a similar 20,000-seat stadium planned by RSL for a field near 9400 S. State St.

But what made the biggest impression, according to economic-development director Randy Sant, may have been the attitude.

"It was kind of refreshing to walk into a community where, at least from a public standpoint, everybody was supportive," he said.

Sant notes the vote counts were unanimous by the Frisco City Council, Collin County Commission, school board and economic development board to pump $55 million public dollars into Pizza Hut Park.

"I guess zero-sum game only applies in Utah, because it sure doesn't in Texas," Sant said, referring to an argument by tax watchdogs that stadiums simply divert disposable dollars. "They feel very comfortable that it's going to pay for itself over the long term."

The Frisco model shows that cooperation between government and sports groups can create an energetic part of town, Love argues.

"What stood out were different leaders in a community all coming together with a common vision," he said. "They pulled it off."

Besides hosting Major League Soccer games for FC Dallas, the 117-acre development is used 300 days a year for concerts, tournaments and the Lone Star State's legendary high school football showdowns.

Frisco's school superintendent told the group that investing $15 million in Pizza Hut Park, in exchange for stadium and field use, was cheaper than building a separate venue.

To the contrary, Jordan School District officials balked at kicking in any future tax dollars for a Sandy stadium. RSL then ruled out steering away any school money. Even so, the council wanted to witness firsthand what benefits a stadium could provide schools.

RSL hopes to begin construction on its new home this month and move its games there from the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium in 2008.

Before Sandy leaders sign off, however, they say snarled traffic in the suburb must be addressed. They also wonder about the stadium size, noting Pizza Hut Park sits in the ground like a bowl, while the RSL model would be above-grade.

Still, Councilman Scott Cowdell, who represents the stadium district, says it was important to tour a model.

"I can see now, I can understand now," he said, "why it can't be as effective for the players or the fans in a football stadium."

djensen@sltrib.com

Corroon wants outside review of RSL balance sheet, business plan

Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon has called in the cavalry to help probe the financial fitness of Real Salt Lake.

The mayor, who earlier this year rejected a funding proposal for RSL's 20,000-seat soccer stadium before embracing a tentative deal, wants an independent consultant to scrutinize the team's balance sheet, investors and business plan.

The county's Debt Review Committee will weigh that outside review before deciding whether to approve $40 million in old and new hotel taxes pledged for the stadium venture.

"We would be remiss if we didn't ask who are our business partners," Auditor Sean Thomas said.

Thomas notes the probe could take "two to three months," which could handicap RSL's chances of completing the stadium for the 2008 season, as planned.

But Doug Willmore, the county's chief administrative officer, said he is confident the financial review can be wrapped up in 30 days.

"I was told by the team that they have all the financials ready," he said. "They just need to copy them."

RSL objected earlier this year - and even considered legal action - when its financial papers were leaked to reporters.

- Derek P. Jensen