After more than a year of back-and-forth negotiations for public financing, RSL's contractor, Layton Turner Construction, began preliminary work Wednesday on the site, currently home to a fallow field, abandoned houses and an empty RV showroom.
Thursday, Checketts expressed "gratitude" that work has finally started and defended the Legislature's decision to direct $35 million in Salt Lake County hotel taxes to land, parking and infrastructure for the stadium. Sandy City has pledged an additional $10 million for the $110 million project.
Grass-roots organizers, who argue the stadium project shouldn't receive public money, are attempting to overturn the stadium legislation, passed in February, through a referendum petition. They need 92,000 signatures from registered voters statewide by Monday.
This week, RSL launched a marketing campaign with full-page newspaper ads, a Web site and pamphlet claiming benefits of the public investment. Checketts said the effort was not in response to the petition drive, but to combat "misinformation" about the stadium deal and to get the public thinking "positively" about the project during the first week of the new season.
"We're creating an asset on this land that is going to generate significant amounts of taxes - and taxes that go back to the schools," Checketts said.
Jack Greenland, project manager with Layton Turner, said he expects demolition to start in earnest Monday. Fifteen-foot deep footings will be laid in early May and the stadium's 525,000-square-foot frame will begin to rise mid-June, Greenland said.
"That's when people will really start to see things happening," said Greenland, who has been preparing for the project for more than a year.
"It's been a long time coming."
At the peak of construction, Greenland expects to have up to 450 workers on site at once. But Thursday, he was unsure when construction could wrap up.
Checketts said he's still shooting for a Summer 2008 opening. But the team had hoped to begin construction last fall to ensure a July 4, 2008, opener against Real Madrid.
The Governor's Office of Economic Development, charged with handling the hotel tax money, is negotiating an interlocal agreement with Sandy. The document could be reviewed by Sandy's City Council as soon as April 17. Then, Sandy will draft a development agreement with Real Salt Lake.
RSL bought the property for close to $22 million; some of the land is reserved for commercial development, while the remainder will be acquired by the state through the tax funding. Checketts said the state will pay "exactly to the penny" what RSL paid for the land.
A "very aggressive" developer is interested in partnering with RSL to create a shopping and dining district around the stadium, Checketts said. The "super block" is expected to become a $650 million project and also include a hotel and office space.
rwinters@sltrib.com
