Here’s the latest in the Real Salt Lake stadium saga: as ever, nothing has been finalized, but the Utah State Senate approved legislation in a 20-8 vote that would divert $35 million in hotel taxes to buy land and help build a $110 million soccer stadium in Sandy, the only stadium destination club officials said they were interested in, in Utah. The bill has yet to move through the House, however; many expect that decision today.
One of the prevailing notions in the Senate for approving the bill was that a soccer stadium/outdoor concert venue offered a rare tourism opportunity for the city. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. applied the pressure to lawmakers when he issued a news release stating that Utah leaders risked skipping out on “an economic-development investment in valuable property and a valuable community asset,” that would go elsewhere if they didn’t ante up soon. It’s a remarkable turn of events for a deal that was effectively called dead on several occasions. The Salt Lake Tribune says the House is expected to approve the bill, as its other option is to move the project to State Fairpark in downtown Salt Lake City.