They are talking about installing natural grass, improving sight lines and, perhaps most important, selling beer. Making suds available could stir up RSL's concession take by 50 percent.
It sounds great, says team CEO Dean Howes, but it may be futile.
"Rice-Eccles at best is a short-term solution," he says. To guarantee success, he insists, RSL needs its very own venue.
Nonetheless, Howes said Thursday, the team appreciates efforts to make the U. contract more equitable. Still, "this is a football stadium. It's built for football."
Earlier this week, Howes outlined his stadium concerns for Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon and County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson. Both county officials prefer the U. to a $30 million taxpayer bond to build a soccer-specific stadium in either Salt Lake City, Sandy or Murray. They want to see sustained success before committing public dollars.
Says Wilson: "This idea came to me when I went to the first game and said, 'Wow, this really feels great.' " For it to work "everyone needs to take a deep breath and say we're starting from scratch here."
To that end, Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, says he would carry a bill next year to legalize beer sales during RSL games at the U. He also supports widening the field and revamping the team's contract to generate more revenue for the fledgling club.
"That's something worthy of consideration because it costs so much less" than building a new stadium, Stephenson said.
But Howes remains dismissive. Besides beer, he notes that parking, suite sales, signage and sponsorships are out of balance. And even those changes, he says, may not give fans "what they are looking for."
"It's like arguing for the pitcher over the catcher," he said. "You have to have both."
"The team needs a home and I believe it has to be consistent with the crowds we're bringing in." Rice-Eccles has seating for 45,600; RSL wants a 25,000-seat stadium. The team has been averaging 12,000-15,000 fans in its inaugural season.
djensen@sltrib.com
Real Salt Lake has its sights set on getting goals and a downtown Salt Lake City location. The team is scoring on neither. During a recent debate on the expansion team's future, Mayors Rocky Anderson of Salt Lake City and Tom Dolan of Sandy agreed that RSL's first choice for a new stadium is so-called block 40, a parcel used for parking between 500 South and 400 South and Main and West Temple. Problem is, the property still is not for sale. "We've made that clear to the team," said Clint Ensign, senior vice president for Sinclair Oil Corp, adding owner Earl Holding was "quite emphatic on that." Team CEO Dean Howes says the club has never been shy about its "love" for block 40. Even so, he laments, "Mr. Holding isn't selling that block." - Derek P. Jensen
Soccer sweetener for Rice-Eccles is sought
