Trouble is, it still could be a nonstarter with Salt Lake County number crunchers.

Mayor Tom Dolan confirmed Tuesday that Sandy is proposing a bond to help build a 20,000-seat stadium near 9400 S. State St.

Last month, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon scuttled a county bond for the venue. He blanched because some of the hotel taxes needed to repay the $35 million bond would be tied up until 2011 and the remainder until 2015.

But Dolan says Sandy could step in with a longer-term Redevelopment Agency bond and repay it when the hotel taxes become available - if the county signs off on the deal. He added the bond would neither hike residents' taxes nor hurt the city's bond rating.

"Money from the bond would go [to pay] for land and infrastructure," Dolan said Tuesday. "The stadium itself would still be paid for by Real."

While details for the $145 million stadium and entertainment complex are sketchy, the plan calls for Sandy loaning $6 million up-front to RSL out of RDA funds - this in addition to $10 million in RDA money already promised.

If approved by city and county officials, Sandy also would float a bond - estimated at between $35 million and $41 million- to help launch construction.

Increased property taxes siphoned from the development and, eventually, hotel-tax revenues would pay off the loan. So will RSL, Dolan added, if there is a shortfall. The team would tap private donors to pay the remainder.

"This has never been about just soccer for us," Dolan said. "It's about economic development for the entire area: new jobs, retail opportunities and increased revenues for the city."

For now, it's nothing more than an idea for county leaders, some of whom have huddled privately with Sandy leaders and state legislators to discuss possible funding mechanisms.

"We're all throwing spaghetti against the refrigerator door to see what will stick," County Councilman Randy Horiuchi said.

Horiuchi's council colleague, Michael Jensen, is intrigued by the proposal. Corroon is noncommittal and wants to see actual numbers before committing the county's hotel taxes.

"It's got to have a strong return on the investment before I'll endorse it," he said.

Corroon's chief administrative officer, Doug Willmore, is skeptical, noting the plan sounds as if it "has the same structure that the mayor didn't approve before."

For their part, RSL officials insist they have no knowledge of Sandy's plan.

"This has all been a negotiation between Sandy and the county," team spokesman Tom Love said. "We have no opinion on it."

Sandy Economic Development Director Randy Sant says the city should be ready to make a formal presentation to the county within 30 days.

Dolan and Sant already met informally June 6 with City Council members - one or two at a time - before the council's meeting.

"The majority of the council seem positive about it," Councilman Steve Fairbanks said. "The mayor and Sant have found solutions that answer all the county's objections. This could prove to be beneficial for not just Sandy, but the whole south end of the valley."

Councilman Scott Cowdell publicly opposed a city bond in May, but now is more amenable if Sandy residents aren't stuck with the tab.

"It needs to go the County Council and Mayor [Corroon] to see if it's a workable plan for them," he added. "The ball is in their court."

meddington@sltrib.com

djensen@sltrib.com