Public Backs County Decision as Officials Hand RSL a Lifeline

• Deseret Morning News, Wednesday, January 31, 2007 3:01 PM

While reports indicate that the never-quite-dead Real Salt Lake stadium could be resurrected in another part of Utah, a poll from the Deseret Morning News and KSL shows that the majority of the Salt Lake County public backed mayor Peter Corroon's decision to nix the RSL stadium project on Monday. Seventy-percent of those polled agreed with Corroon, while an outspoken few called him an "idiot" who "single-handedly" killed professional soccer in Utah.

Since the stadium controversy started heating up about four months ago, Corroon's approval rating has risen from 63 to 67.5 percent. The Salt Lake County mayor killed the proposal to build a soccer stadium in the Salt Lake suburb of Sandy on Monday by refusing to put $30 million in hotel tax revenue into the project, which he called an "unsafe investment."

Immediately after his announcement, RSL owner Dave Checketts said he would likely sell the team, but in an emergency meeting held by the Salt Lake City Council, Councilwoman Jill Remington Love said the council is readying a proposal urging Checketts to look into Salt Lake's fairpark, 10 blocks west of downtown, as another possible location. City Mayor Rocky Anderson is said to support the move.

Read the whole story at Deseret Morning News »