http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660209483,00.html
Checketts, Real poised for stadium construction
By Amelia Nielson-Stowell
Deseret Morning News
SANDY — Eight months after the official ceremonial groundbreaking for the Real Salt Lake soccer stadium, literal groundbreaking on the site will finally happen Monday.
Michael Brandy, Deseret Morning NewsDave Checketts stands on the 136-acre site that he and Sandy officials hope to turn into a mega-development. Real team owner Dave Checketts toured the location of the future $110 million Major League Soccer stadium Thursday with officials of Layton Turner Construction, which is building the stadium on the northwest corner of 9400 S. State. It's slated to open in August 2008, with a game against Real Madrid.
"Why I came down here instead of downtown (Salt Lake) — this was a blank canvas," Checketts said, standing on what will soon be the north corner of the field.
"What I'd like to do is create an international square of sorts," he added, speaking of what Real and Sandy hope will be a 136-acre mega-development of that entire block, with outdoor dining and shopping. Checketts envisions the look of a European market.
Checketts also revealed that beer will be sold in the stadium; that a big-time developer is partnering with Real to develop the "superblock"; and that the hockey team St. Louis Blues, which he owns, could play exhibition games on the field if it is turned into an ice rink during the winter off-season.
Since a much-publicized groundbreaking in August with soccer superstar David Beckham, no actual construction has been done on the site outside of brush clearing and site staking.
Negotiations to give the team millions in public funds hit roadblocks throughout 2006. Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon denied a funding plan for the stadium three times, once in May, again in July and for a final time this January. He deemed it a risky investment of the county's hotel-tax dollars.
But in February, the Legislature approved a last-minute funding package for the stadium, forcing $35 million of the county's hotel-room tax revenue to go toward land and parking at the site.
Those never-ending negotiations also forced Real's first investor, Goldman Sachs, to pull out of the project last month. Real, however, quickly secured iStar Financial as a new investor.
That land cost Real $20 million to $22 million for two pieces: private property from resident Bonnie Miller and the Ardell Brown RV park (per terms of the RV park sale contract, Brown gets to kick the first ball at the opening Real Madrid game).
Under terms of the deal with the state, Real will sell that stadium site for the same price they bought it for to the state. The state will own the land the actual stadium, parking and additional roads will sit on.
The Monday construction start date is the same day signatures are due for a voter referendum against public funding for the stadium. If nearly 92,000 signatures of registered Utah voters are collected by April 9, a decision on whether the $35 million in hotel-tax dollars goes to the stadium could be up to voters.
Checketts said he recognizes the referendum is part of the political process. But he said he's concerned that there's been misinformation about the project.
Real has been running full-page color ads in the Deseret Morning News detailing the stadium deal. Those ads, he said, are part of "Real Week," the week leading up to the first home game of the season, which happens Saturday. He added, though, that they clear up confusion surrounding the funding details.
"There had been enough misinformation that we were obligated not to fight anybody," he said, "but inform the state."
Sandy city has been leery of approving any sort of parking plans with Real because of numerous unresolved issues. City officials are worried about the limited amount of stalls on-site and how to funnel more than 20,000 fans in and out of the stadium for games.
The limited surface parking (less than 1,000 spots) is a temporary plan, and Real plans to build a larger parking structure as a permanent solution once the bigger development falls into place. Checketts said he's not "stressed about that at all.
"We're confident that there's 7,000 parking places in a 15-minute walking distance," he said. "I don't think they're (Sandy) comfortable yet, but they'll either get comfortable or we'll figure it out."
Jake Greenland, project manager for Layton Turner Construction, said 400-450 employees will be working to build the project. Steel will start going up in mid-June.
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