Surprised not to see a thread on this already. Is this too ho-hum? Anyway, team is bought all the way by Dell Loy Hansen. Thoughts? http://www.realsaltlake.com/news/20...dell-loy-hansen-now-sole-owner-real-salt-lake
http://espn.kall700sports.com/2013/01/dell-loy-hansen-jan-24-2013/dell-loy-hansen-1-24-13/ Listen to the interview and try not to get too excited. That's what she said.
The "off season news" thread has a discussion going on on this announcement. However this is quite big news, it is probably deserving of it's own thread. I think it is probably good news, I would imagine Uncle Dave has too much sports stuff on his plate. I get the feeling Uncle Dell is going to be more interested in the team than Dave was. I wonder also how much of a toll the stadium fight and the "Real Madrid Academy" stuff took on Dave. God bless him for bringing the team here but perhaps it is time for new blood.
My guess is that Yankees and his church work, all of which is focused on the NYC metro, probably caught up to him. I am surprised he stayed this involved for this long. Thank you for founding RSL and good luck to you Mr Checketts.
No worries...this definately needs it's own thread...this is defiantely the beginging of a new era...exciting times! Talk of more salary, an actual DP and better concessions (ha ha!) I'll be forever grateful to Uncle Dave, but the potential we now have is very exciting.
Just to throw this out to everyone so I can be roundly hounded for even mentioning such a thing, but maybe Uncle Dave is selling his ownership in RSL so he can be part of the ownership of the nebulus 20th MLS franchise in Noo Yawk. Think about it. All his other interests are there.........
Maybe. If Uncle Dave didn't have enough money to keep RSL going without brining in someone with deep pockets there is no way he has the money for a team in New York. The expansion fees are going to be 10 times what RSL paid to get in MLS. Also, if Dave's sporting ownership attempts had been profitable he wouldn't have had to take the Legends CEO gig. I could see Dave with his experience taking a job with an MLS team down the road as an executive or even better as an MLS executive or maybe even MLS commissioner before owning another team.
I suppose it's possible he'd go in on NY2 if it's part of an ownership group. I'm sure he's just trying to consolidate where his holdings are. I'm sure it's a nightmare trying to fly to 3-4 different areas of the country all the time. It's got to be a bit stressful and tiring.
Checketts specifically said in one of the interviews that he wasn't getting involved in NY2 and he was going to be solely focused on Legends gig. But money talks and I'm sure that could be changed if he's shown enough green...
Perhaps Checketts' greatest accomplishment was to get the Rio Tinto Stadium project off the ground. He thought it was dead when the Salt Lake County council voted down the stadium proposal for a fourth time. "I was walking into a dinner with the president of Real Madrid," he recalled of the night before Real Salt Lake was to play Real Madrid with David Beckham. "We were at a restaurant in Salt Lake and as I was walking into the dinner and my 12-year-old daughter Elizabeth -- who is here today and is now 20 -- asked me, ‘So, how did the vote go, exactly?’ And I said, ‘We got voted down again, I think we’ve reached the end.’ She burst out in tears and that is why the stadium got built. That night sitting with Eric Gelfan from our office in New York and others, I said, 'Let’s just have a groundbreaking in the morning. As long as Real Madrid’s here, let’s have a groundbreaking and that’ll put everybody on notice that we’re going to build a stadium and that’s what we did.' So Elizabeth, thank you very much for your role in me never wanting to disappoint you and that’s what made us build something that I will remember forever.” http://www.socceramerica.com/article/50099/checketts-importance-to-mls-cant-be-overstated.html
Getting national attention is always a good thing....isn't it???? http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/01/28/monday-postgame-recalling-best-names-mls-history
It is a shame I didn't win the $300M+ lottery a little while back. I told myself that I would offer it to Checketts for his share of RSL. I guess I am too late on winning the lottery. The good news is that it is highly unlike that Spence ever comes back and it also makes sense why he took a job with rival 1280 from 700AM
I'm pretty sure that Spence's move had more to do with getting his dream job than it did bailing before his dad sold the company. Spence has wanted to be part of the Jazz organization for quite a while, and he got the offer to be the host instead of the co-host on the show. He also now does Jazz pre & post game shows, instead of RSL. Sure, he grew to like RSL and soccer, but it never replaced his first love: basketball.
He did? Could have fooled me. I especially liked how he would name all the callers in post-games idiots and ask them not to call. Hater.
I agree, but did you listen to the post-game callers? The majority of them were/are idiots. I'd listen to them and think, "Really? Of all the things you could comment on or question, you chose that?". It was like reading through the Facebook comments on RSL's page, only I couldn't make up the voices in my head for each commenter. I thought he got better over the years, but his best time was when Spencer Warne was commenting with him.
While I agree that a majority of them were, less than stellar assessors of the game, what kind of team-owned broadcast lets their commentator talk like that to people? Especially in post-games where we lost and clearly made major mistakes. RSL deserves the criticism and telling ppl to shut up is just company spin and helps no one. Besides, I couldn't even stand him on the pre-game, and thats when he was only talking to Trey or Warne.
I agree. I don't know Spence but he comes off as incredibly negative. He has a very negative vibe for what ever reason. Even on his new show he comes off as angry, impatient and put out. I don't miss him at all. I do think he grew to appreciate the game but I like who is working the RSL games now much better. Dunny and the boys do a great job and I really like the On Frame podcast. Very enjoyable. Speaking of Spence I can't miss an opportunity to express my utter distaste for his boss. The absolute worst NBA play by play guy I have ever heard, David Locke.
Agreed on all counts about David Locke. James Rust is now running the pre & post game for RSL. I grew up with him, and he's always been a basketball guy. However, he played AYSO until 7th or 8th grade, so he does have some knowledge of soccer. Listening to his calls makes me think he's been watching and studying more soccer lately.