You're about to see for yourself.

Dean Howes, RSL's chief executive officer, said Friday that Salt Lake County will have a "complete set of financials" in hand by early next week.

That pledge comes a day after documents obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune revealed RSL had sought a confidentiality agreement, preventing the county - and taxpayers - from scrutinizing the Major League Soccer team's books even while it seeks $55 million in public funds to help build the stadium.

But on Friday, team spokesman Eric Gelfand released a statement vowing to "release our financial information to the [county's] Debt Review Committee and . . . to anyone without a confidentiality clause."

County officials, who have been waiting for two months to receive the promised financial data, intend to make most of the numbers available to soccer fans and foes alike.

"I'm sure the public would like at least the basics to see whether the project makes sense or not," county Mayor Peter Corroon said. "We'll do whatever we can to make it as accessible as possible."

Howes maintains the team always intended to release its business plan. The delay, he added, came from fear that "competitors" would see RSL's finances. When asked who those competitors were, he said "everybody."

"There's no malice or hidden agenda here at all," Howes said from New York. "It's never been about trying to keep these from the county. We've never tried to hide it from them."

Antsy for those records and worried about the confidentiality demand, county officials recently ratcheted up the pressure on RSL, suggesting the deal may implode without cooperation.

Howes says the financial package contains all of the team's funding. "It will literally go through, in detail, all our operational expenses and revenues. It will have our financial business models as well."

The team already has provided financial information to the county's consultant, Economics Research Associates (ERA). The numbers next will go to the Debt Review Committee, whose eight-member panel will make a recommendation on the stadium project to Corroon.

That process is a priority, the mayor says, before the county can release its $40 million in old and new hotel taxes to RSL. Sandy plans to come up with $15 million.

Corroon, who did not learn about the team's disclosure plans until told by The Tribune, said ERA had "some heartburn" with the confidentiality agreement. That angst was shared by county officials, who warned the team that the stadium process "will be stopped" unless they see the money.

Jenny Wilson, a councilwoman initially opposed to the deal before funding details changed, says the soccer saga has been a "painful process."

"The one thing that Real has to accept is that this is not a business deal," Wilson said. "This is a deal utilizing public dollars. With that comes significant strings. . . . It's the cost of doing business with a public entity."

Mark Crockett, a venture-capital consultant and the council's strongest stadium critic, agrees.

"It's an awkward thing for them to release financials. No business likes to to that," he said. "I'm empathetic, but it would be a lot easier for the public to decide if they see the numbers."

Some residents say the episode already has turned them sour.

Mike Giron, who lives in Taylorsville, fears taxpayers will be stuck with a "white elephant."

"What [RSL owner] Dave Checketts is trying to do is rush the building of the stadium, and, before it is built, he will sell the team and run with the money," he said. "If [Checketts] really wants that stadium built . . . why didn't he turn those documents over the next day?"

Other problems, particularly with land ownership, persist.

RSL's planned purchase of a 10-acre RV lot - considered a key stadium parcel on the corner of 9400 South and State Street - has been pushed back indefinitely, according to Angi Brown, office manager of Ardell Brown Auto Sales.

"We were supposed to close in the fall," she said. ''Right now, I don't know what to tell customers, and I'm losing business because of it. It's just really frustrating. We're waiting for [RSL] to, as you say, 'show us the money.' ''

Brown, whose father agreed to sell the property for an undisclosed sum but now is using the space to peddle antique cars, says a stadium opening in mid-2008 seems unrealistic.

Corroon has questions as well. He notes the agreement calls for the county simply to subsidize land and improvements, not the stadium.

"We have to own what we pay for, and we won't invest in anything but the land," Corroon said.

To date, the team has not outlined what property it is counting on the county to buy. Still, Howes says the deal is in "pretty good shape."

"We feel like we're still right on schedule for the July 4, 2008, opening," he said.

The CEO denies doing a character assassination on Corroon's chief administrator, Doug Willmore, which the latter said he heard from various government officials.

"I've never said anything disparaging about anybody," Howes said. "I believe Doug to be very much a professional."

So will the deal get done?

"I'm cautiously optimistic," Corroon said. "Let's put it that way."

djensen@sltrib.com