GRACE LEONG - Daily Herald | Posted: Friday, July 14, 2006 11:00 pm
The developer of the former Geneva Steel property that has offered free land for Real Salt Lake's soccer stadium is making a bold pitch to buy the team too.
That is, if the fledgling but popular two-year-old Utah soccer team is up for sale.
In a pre-emptive move to keep Real Salt Lake from leaving the state, Sandy-based Anderson Development said it is prepared to do whatever it takes, including buying the team from owner Dave Checketts, Anderson Partner Michael Hutchings told the Daily Herald on Friday. Checketts reportedly paid $10 million for the franchise.
"Checketts is aware that we're interested in buying the team only if it's in jeopardy of leaving Utah. On the other hand, if Checketts wants to keep the team and locate it on our Vineyard property, we're fine with that, too," he said.
Anderson on Thursday offered to donate up to 30 acres of the 1,700-acre former steel plant property in Vineyard it is now cleaning up for a potential 20,000-seat soccer stadium. Its offer came after the Salt Lake County Council earlier this week rejected a proposal that would put $30 million in hotel taxes toward buying the land and building infrastructure for a proposed stadium in Sandy.
Checketts could not be reached for comment immediately on the two proposals. But the one-time Utah Jazz president and sports media mogul has been quoted in local media reports as saying he "only wants to own the team in Utah."
That, Hutchings says, can be interpreted to mean Checketts won't own the team outside of Utah -- prompting Anderson's latest offer to buy the team.
Hutchings declined to comment on the amount Anderson would offer for Real Salt Lake.
But what's in it for Andersonfi
For one, the proposed stadium can be an anchor tenant for a massive multi-million-dollar mixed-use residential, commercial, retail development Anderson is planning on the 1,700-acre site. That same advantage, Hutchings said, is also motivating Checketts's plan to build a hotel, commercial, retail and residential project around the soccer stadium.
"The stadium can be an anchor tenant for a vibrant business and retail community. Other uses can be made of the stadium, like concerts. Utah high schools need a stadium for their high school championship games. UVSC, which is near Vineyard, will have need for such facilities, too," he said. "That's why Checketts was interested in the acreage around the proposed Sandy stadium site. We're also looking for synergistic benefits of having both the stadium and the team in Vineyard."
Checketts and his partners had said they would invest more than half a billion dollars in private capital to build the Sandy stadium.
But skeptics say it's a risky venture and question the viability of Real Salt Lake moving to Utah County from its home field at the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles stadium in Salt Lake. The team's lease at Rice-Eccles runs out in 2007.
"Moving to Utah County means Real Salt Lake is going to be 45 minutes away from what is already among the smallest Major League Soccer teams in the nation in terms of corporate dollars," said Chris Watkins, who has been BYU men's soccer coach for 13 years.
"The team is also losing millions of dollars a year because of its lease with Rice-Eccles, nor does it have enough corporate sponsorship to turn a profit. Almost every MLS franchise is losing money except for the Los Angeles Galaxy, and that's because the L.A. team has won some championships, owns their own stadium and L.A. is the center of soccer here," Watkins said.
Still, Watkins says he welcomes Real Salt Lake's move to Utah County. But he says he sees Anderson's offer being used as leverage by Checketts to "get another venue elsewhere" in the state. Other possible stadium sites include the State Fairgrounds west of downtown Salt Lake City, a location Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson has been pushing for the last month, the Associated Press reported.
Rondo Fehlberg, a partner with the Salt Lake City-based law firm of Hutchings Baird & Jones representing Anderson, and a former BYU athletics director, disputed Watkins's views.
"When I was athletics director at BYU, we were able to secure corporate dollars from Salt Lake City firms because they felt BYU athletics was a good product. In the case of the Vineyard stadium, we have to make sure we can provide companies with a compelling business proposition," he said.
Fehlberg was also a consultant for World Cup 1994 and helped start the BYU women's soccer team in 1996.
"We believe if Real Salt Lake is marketed properly, there's enough market and interest in Utah to support an MLS team and over time it will only get better," he said. "Even if the team is struggling to be successful, the stadium can be a magnet for restaurants, hotels, conventions and other business."
Anderson is counting on Real Salt Lake's trump card -- its loyal fan base in Utah and strong attendance figures, which average about 16,000 per game, Fehlberg said.
"It's a fallacy to say people from Salt Lake County won't drive to Utah County, especially when BYU football fans from all over have managed to fill the 65,000-seat LaVell Edwards stadium. The point is if the product is there, people will drive to Utah County," he said.
Other advantages of the proposed Vineyard site include its proximity to three Interstate 15 interchanges, the future commuter rail line from Utah County to Ogden, as well as the planned Mountainview corridor freeway from Davis County to the northwest portion of Utah County through Lehi and Pleasant Grove, Hutchings said.
"Plus, we're offering to do this without infusion of public money. It'll be difficult for other cities to come up with the same offer of free land for the stadium," he said.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.