State senators will debate Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s plan to steer the stadium to Sandy. And Salt Lake City Council members will back or buck Mayor Rocky Anderson's sweetened deal to ferry it to the Utah State Fairpark in case the suburb doesn't work out.

If neither deal is finalized by Friday, RSL could be headed for a new state. St. Louis is still considered a top suitor. RSL financial consultants were there last week, according to Anderson, and a team source says owner Dave Checketts is flying to St. Louis, possibly today, to hear an offer.

"I do expect to meet with Dave this week, sooner rather than later," said Jeff Cooper, a St. Louis-based attorney who is leading an investment group pursuing the team. "It's a substantial and realistic and credible offer."

On the Sandy front, Senate President John Valentine says there is neither consensus nor a Senate sponsor for a plan to funnel $15 million in Salt Lake County hotel taxes toward land and infrastructure for a stadium near 9400 S. State St. Lawmakers also want to tap $20 million in hotel taxes - allocated to Salt Lake County in 2005 - for joint parking with the South Towne Expo Center.

But Valentine expects movement on the measure soon - he will meet again with Huntsman - adding that a stadium solution "must be done this week."

"Some people are very, very opposed to it and there are some people who are very, very for it," Valentine said Monday. "It will come down to a tight vote on the floor."

Still, County Councilman Randy Horiuchi expects the Sandy soccer bill to pass.

"In the end, I think they'll close ranks and get it done," he said. "It's become more than soccer for this institution. It's become about keeping your word."

The team declined comment.

Anderson originally wanted the capital to kick in $8 million for a fairpark stadium to cover the team's financing gap. This past weekend, he learned the gap has grown - partly because the team would have to redo architectural and design work and refabricate steel. Now, the mayor proposes spending $12.5 million - perhaps with the county contributing $4 million of that amount - on a roughly $80 million stadium.

In exchange, the team would spend $50 million over 50 years to promote the city. The now tax-fallow fairpark would pay the city $330,000 in privilege taxes. And Checketts couldn't move or sell the team for 10 years.

Anderson calls it a "much better deal for taxpayers" than the Sandy idea, though the suburban stadium - with plans for a mega-commercial development around it - remains the front-runner.

If Sandy fails at the Legislature but Salt Lake City approves the $12.5 million, "we'll see this team at the Fairpark," Anderson predicted.

While the state owns the fairpark, a city analysis shows the Legislature wouldn't have to approve the stadium. The fairpark's board would do that and negotiate a lease agreement with the team.

Fairpark Director Rick Frenette spoke with Checketts this weekend. No conclusion was reached.

"It was for us to feel out if they were interested. He [Checketts] wanted it as an option."

City Council Chairman Van Turner cannot promise the four votes needed to approve Anderson's more-expensive proposal.

The $8 million plan, however, probably would have passed, he said.

"I was comfortable with the one figure but not the other," he said. "We're trying to do this in good faith. You have to have solid numbers and you stay by them. We'll see what happens."

County Councilman Joe Hatch, who met Monday with House Speaker Greg Curtis and Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan, lamented that the county has become the target in the stadium debate.

"They were beating up on me pretty good, and I was pushing back," Hatch said. "This is a deal between the state of Utah, Sandy and Real. It has nothing to do with Salt Lake County, except we are giving up $35 million."

hmay@sltrib.com

djensen@sltrib.com

Stadium developments:

* Salt Lake City may sweeten by $4 million its Utah State Fairpark proposal, which Senate President John Valentine says is running on a "parallel track" with the Sandy plan at the Legislature.

* The Salt Lake County Council will vote today on whether to relinquish $20 million allocated for South Towne Expo Center parking back to the state. State leaders want the cash to provide joint parking for a Sandy soccer stadium and South Towne.

* The Senate today will debate the measure pushed by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. to use $35 million in hotel taxes for stadium parking, land and infrastructure near 9400 South State in Sandy.

Sandy vs. Fairpark: How they stack up

Total subsidy

* Sandy: $15 million in county hotel taxes for land and infrastructure. $20 million in hotel taxes for parking (shared by South Towne Expo Center). Up to $15 million in tax-increment financing from Sandy.

* Fairpark: Possibly $12.5 million from a combination of Salt Lake City loans and city-county tax-increment funding.

Guarantees

* Sandy: No contract language yet.

* Fairpark: RSL must remain at location at least 10 years and locate its soccer academy in Salt Lake City. Team would spend $50 million over 50 years to promote the city. Team no longer on the hook for $7.5 million for youth fields, although the county may provide that money.