Early last week, soccer executives, state leaders and their good ol' boy from the burbs, Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan, were ready to pull another sleight of hand on Salt Lake City specifically and taxpayers generally.
It was a maddening but predictable turn in Utah's love affair with the worst team in Major League Soccer: After months of promising to build an elite soccer academy in the capital city, RSL CEO Dean Howes said the "greater Salt Lake County area" would do. That's code for Sandy.
Quick to capitalize on another Real turnabout, Sandy economic development officials dropped a contract into surprised City Council members' laps that included a simple little line about the team making its "best efforts" to locate the soccer academy in Sandy.
Salt Lake City leaders howled halfheartedly. They had been there before - outmaneuvered and outplayed.
"As a public relations strategy, it's disastrous," said Mayor Rocky Anderson. "If they would just state a position and stick with it, they'd be a lot better off."
And Ralph Becker, the House minority leader and candidate for mayor who lined up the Democratic votes necessary to build Real's 20,000-seat stadium, said the team and Sandy were violating the spirit of their agreement with the state. Without Real's pledge to build the academy in Salt Lake City, Becker said, the state's $35 million hotel tax subsidy never would have passed the Legislature.
"I don't know if we can believe anything they say," Becker said.
This time, the backlash apparently filtered up.
Abruptly on Friday, Dolan let the soccer team off the hook. After a few days of meetings with Real executives, he said his city would drop that problematic clause from the development agreement with the team, leaving the academy to Salt Lake City. Sandy's demand for a suite, four days' use of the stadium and a veto over naming rights will remain. And the city still is considering "gifting" Real some of the 29 acres purchased with public money.
Somehow, over the course of five days, soccer executives changed their minds - or their strategy.
Perhaps memories of three years of missteps came to mind. Some were the result of the team's bumbling, others slopped onto Real after conservative state politicians jabbed at Rocky and his city. Legislators changed state law to block Salt Lake City from using RDA funds to build a soccer stadium, ensuring the project would go to Sandy. Then, lawmakers promised to let Salt Lake County decide whether to divert hotel taxes, but stomped on Mayor Peter Corroon when he said no. Finally, Checketts promised to provide $7.5 million for a youth sports complex, but hesitated to produce the money.
One more yanked trial balloon wouldn't look good for a team whose image, even with fans, is shredded.
walsh@sltrib.com
