Of course, the opportunity comes with substantial price tag - around $2 million per year. But the franchise hopes to land a 15-year naming rights contract before stadium construction wraps at 9256 S. State St. in summer or fall 2008.

New York-based marketing expert Gary Pluchino is in town this week to formally launch RSL's bid for a title sponsor. And he said Tuesday he's peddling more than just a stadium name.

He's selling an "integrated marketing platform," complete with television and radio spots, print ads, promotional nights at the stadium and the right to use the facility for corporate events.

"We look to customize," Pluchino said, sitting in a plush mock suite at the stadium site that he plans to show off to prospective clients. (You could get one of those, too, with your naming rights.)

Pluchino, a senior vice president at international marketing firm IMG, said the branding opportunity already has generated interest among companies in the telecommunications, oil and gas, financial services, retail and airline industries.

He plans to court local and regional enterprises, along with national corporations that have a sizable presence in Utah.

And he said potential sponsors aren't fazed by the public outcry that followed RSL's quest to land $35 million in Salt Lake County hotel taxes for the $110-million stadium. (The money finally came through last month after two years of negotiations.)

"Political infighting" happens with any facility built with public funds, Pluchino said.

"The whole political thing is not specific to Salt Lake City . . .. It's not right or wrong. People have different views of how public money should be spent," he said.

Still, naming rights have proved to be a tough sell in Salt Lake County before.

West Valley City opened the hockey and concert arena E Center 10 years ago but has yet to sell its name. The city has come close a few times, seeking $7 million to $10 million for the rights, but has failed to deliver a new title for the blandly-named E Center.

City Attorney Richard Catten, who has been involved with the arena since its 1997 opening, said selling the title sponsorship just hasn't been a "high priority."

"There have been periods where we've been pretty active trying to sell it and have come close to [selling] it several times," Catten said. "We don't have a marketing staff - like most governments don't."

In the late '90s there was talk about selling the title to US West (now merged with Qwest) or Borden/Meadow Gold Dairies. In 1996 before the E Center's opening, the Utah Grizzlies sparked community uproar when it suggested Coors Brewing Co. might be interested. The city quickly rejected the idea.

Sandy already has put the kibosh on a soccer stadium named for an alcohol, tobacco or sexually-oriented business. It's one of the conditions built into the city's development agreement with the team, which directed the hotel taxes to the project and promises another $10 million of property-tax-increment financing from the city when the stadium is built.

"Other than that [naming restriction] we're pretty open," said Sandy's economic development director Randy Sant.

"It's a big revenue source for Real."

RSL spokesman Trey FitzGerald said the team wouldn't have picked a liquor, tobacco or sex-related business anyway.

Major League Soccer won't allow it.

Still, there might be other potential land mines. The Utah Jazz drew rebukes from environmentalists when it renamed the Delta Center to be the EnergySolutions Arena last year after reselling the naming rights to a hazardous waste storage operation in Tooele County. The arena was quickly dubbed "the dump" in some corners.

Pluchino said any possible nicknames must be weighed before RSL sells the stadium's name. And he said the team is likely to partner with an environmentally-friendly company that has a "green message" to get out.

The stadium is being built with an emphasis on energy efficiency, water conservation and recycling. That only broadens the possibilities for a title sponsor, Pluchino said.

"What company these days is not trying to be ecologically-friendly?"

rwinters@sltrib.com