Is it a match? Not quite.
Williams, co-owner of the Gastronomy restaurant chain, said Friday he has offered the 10-acre block between 400 West and 500 West and 200 North and 300 North as a suitable spot.
But the team - which is sporting proposals to build at the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City, near the South Towne Expo Center in Sandy and the Fireclay site in Murray - is lukewarm.
RSL consultant Tom Love said Williams' proposal is intriguing because most of the block is controlled by one owner and it's closer to downtown than the other proposals. But it's also farther west and north of downtown than the team prefers.
"We haven't ruled it out," Love said.
Besides, he said, the team is looking at land near the city's transit hub at 600 West and 300 South, and has found some willing sellers.
Williams suspects this reticence is all part of the team's negotiating tactics as they try to find a bargain.
He estimates his block would cost $12 million to $15 million, compared with the $20 million price tag of Block 22, at Main Street and 600 South. The city wanted to buy that property, but it was too expensive. And the 2005 Legislature forbade cities from tapping Redevelopment Agency funds for sports venues.
Gastronomy owns about 7 acres, and Williams said he has talked to most of the other property owners and they are willing to sell. Williams acknowledged that his company would make a profit if the team picks his site. But it's unclear whether the city would buy the land or where it would find the money.
While Mayor Rocky Anderson also prefers a downtown site, he's now behind the Fairpark proposal because the land is owned by the state. Anderson didn't return a phone call Friday to comment on Williams' proposal.
Williams, who has yet to attend a Real game, downplayed the Fairpark site, predicting it wouldn't spur economic development for a neighborhood 10 blocks west of downtown. His Gastronomy property is two blocks from The Gateway - and Williams said the city needs to protect that shopping center so it can compete with the Main Street malls after the LDS Church redevelops them.
And his site would be near the Delta Center, noted Williams, who made comparisons to Denver's downtown - home to four major stadiums.
Williams said his real interest is protecting and enhancing downtown. He noted that the capital has mostly been successful in securing venues that generate traffic, such as the Delta Center, Abravanel Hall, Capitol Theatre.
"If you start to split that up and spread it around, you lose the possibility of having a truly vital downtown," Williams said. "Here [the soccer stadium] is probably the opportunity of this decade. It's important the downtown not lose that opportunity."
And he believes his property, on the edge of downtown, is a better spot for a stadium that would host around 20 matches a year than a block in the middle of downtown. "Most of the time it's dark. It's not what you want in the middle of the city."
Love noted the property is not on the doorstep to mass transit. But it is two blocks away from a TRAX stop, and a commuter-rail stop is planned nearby, along with a light-rail transfer station when TRAX is extended to the airport. It's also between the 600 North and 400 South freeway on- and off-ramps.
