next tuesday by the earliest or at least by end of next week we should know if we will have a stadium in SLC or even a team in 2009.
This whole stadium process has been SUCH an emotional rollercoaster. I have gone from depression, anger, thoughts of revenge, relief, forgiveness, denial and everything in between about 4 or 5 times now. I have finally gotten to the point that I just sit back and say 'whatever will be will be' Sounds like I am in therapy Still I think the county would be foolish to let it go. They have perhaps the greatest stadium deal in US sports history and if it they don't pass it they can kiss a lot of funding bye bye from the legislature. Long live soccer in Salt Lake!
I'm pretty much the same way right now. I don't even read stadium articles in the papers any more. Just too frustrating. Hopefully the powers to be will see the potential benefits of helping invest in a stadium, but it's all out of my control. For now, I've got my season tix for the upcoming season and am looking forward to attending the matches and yelling my head off for the team. Hopefully I'll be doing so for many years to come, but if not, there are other pleasures to persue in this life.
I'm, almost on the brink of wanting to barricade myself into a tower with a deer this has got me so worked up. I think the county is going to lose the funding anyway, but if it weren't for the stadium deal, those bills would not be in front of the legislature. I am just so tired of this, I can only imagine how Dave Checketts feels.
You don't get rich by spending your money around. You get rich by having other people spending their money for you.
yea, but the county wants tax revenue from the project. Dude, its not only going to be RSL's place...there will be 60 events a year at the stadium according to D Checketts. 60 events a year is a lot for a small state like Utah... The problem is that small minded people think small. Utah thought big once with the Olympics and then a bleep of that came again with RM-RSL game...RSL wants to put SLC on the map internationally and the people in SLC dont get it...small town folk i guess.
"Small town folk" says the guy from Idaho Falls, just playing with you man... You are right to a degree. There are some people that do get it but that is the problem only some get it.
Look how many people opposed spending money to get the Olympics and oppsed spending money once we got the bid. You have it pretty much right, small town mentality. Oh and 60 events a year isn't unrealistic, especially considering that 21 of those are soccer games. Hell, if they host high school football and soccer, especially state, you get to that number pretty quick. Not to mention, with his tie to MLS, you would have to assume he has some sort of dealings with AEG who is one of the largest concert promoters in the country. Really shouldn't be hard to fill the stadium, even if they don't use it much in the winter (but then as mentioned, there is the possibility of ice skating).
SLC should learn from NY, the county/state is playing hardball and about to derail the project its better just to pony up the money and pay for it 100% out of your own pocket and get this thing done. This is turning into the Metro/Red Bull dilemma all over again. Pay for it yourself, own it 100%, and reap the rewards. If you truly believe in the project and think it will earn money you shouldn't be afraid to pay for it.
Not that simple. Dave doesn't have the money for the entire project and most of his private money is dependant on getting a public-private partnership together. If the public money does not come, the private money does not either.
RSL news is scarce this morning... but I found these... Sandy warned to prepare for a stadium parking jam Real outlook for finances looks shaky, report says
At one time, I had definite reservations about the Olympics and was opposed to having them in Utah. In hindsight, the people that made the decision to go forward with them made a good call. They were a great success and I myself had a lot of fun attending some of the events and attending some of the free parties downtown during those couple of weeks. Ought to noted here again that when the Denver Grizzlies indicated a willingness to relocate to Salt Lake City if a hockey arena were built, the majority of Utah residents opposed funding it. We didn't have the media constantly reminding the general public about that fact and the E Center was built (without a penny from the Grizzlies) which in the long run has been a valuable asset as many sports fans and concert goes enjoy events there and surrounding businesses have thrived. If the powers to be in various governments have the wisdom to go forward with the stadium project, I am confident that in the future, there is a good potential that the citizens may be able to look back on things and think "gee, the stadium turned out to be a good thing after all". Also possible of course that an investment in the stadium will turn out to be a costly loss for the county in the long run. Of course if the stadium never comes to be, we will never know. (gee That would be a great LTTE in the Trib or DesNews, but likely wouldn't get published now would it?)
What a major league blow it will be for MLS if RSL can't get the Sandy deal done? We can always remember, there is always Plan B (sorry KC fans): Vineyard/Orem stadium plan. Its just waiting there, glowing, ready to pick up the pieces IF Sandy falls apart. Lets hope Sandy doesn't fall apart.
The excrutiatingly sad part about the situation here is that at this point, I would welcome a stadium in Orem... Go Geneva Steelers!
Would a team be able to make it in Utah County? I know a lot of fans who indicate they would be unable or unwilling to attend matches that far south. I estimate it would take me about 10 dollars each match to pay to drive my vehicle round trip there from my home in West Jordan compared to the (approximately) 3 dollars I pay for gas or a TRAX ticket to get to RES. That extra 7 dollars a game would add up over a season and I would have to decide whether I can afford the extra money (not to mention time) to attend all the matches. We would of course pick up some Utah County fans who currently can't make all the matches in Salt Lake County. Of course the league would need to be willing to work with the potential owners at the Geneva site. It's one thing to say "Hey, I can afford tens of millions of dollars to buy the team and build a stadium" and another thing to be able to actually do it.
Do I think its a good idea for the stadium to be in Orem? Not really. But compared to all the other "great and potential" ideas left to RSL, I'm not really sure there is a better Plan B. Except for maybe moving to Florida. Sorry, couldn't resist. The Fairgrounds, again, maybe?
I always liked the idea of the fairgrounds, but as I've mentioned in other posts, I'm a pretty recent convert to the beautiful game and to RSL, so can anyone refresh my memory as to why the fairgrounds didn't/couldn't work? Thanks in advance.
Also, if the stadium did (heaven forbid) move to Orem, would they still be allowed to sell beer? What would we call the team? We couldn't Real Salt Lake anymore, could we?
The thought of sitting in I-15 south traffic to get to a mid-week game is going to put off a lot of Salt Lake and Davis county fans if they were ever to move to Orem. It's certainly true more Utah county fans would make the games....but, would the Utah county additions outweigh the loss of fans north of the point of the mountain? Me doubts it. I read a pretty good comment by someone dealing with trying to get a new hockey arena in Pittsburgh. Chuck Ardo stated: "We don't intend to negotiate through the media." While I like to be kept informed by the local media on what's going on with with the Sandy stadium negotiations, I feel everyone might be better off if the negoatiations had not been so played out in the media.
I come down from ogden for the games, but if they moved it to orem I wouldnt go to pretty much any games. Maybe one big game or something. But two hours each way driving would not make it worth it. I would just watch them on tv