America First Field
  | |
 | |
| Location | Sandy, Utah |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°34′59″N 111°53′35″W / 40.582923°N 111.893156°W |
| Owner | Salt Lake County, Utah and Real Salt Lake |
| Capacity | 20,008 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | August 12 2006 |
| Opened | October 9 2008 |
| Construction cost | $115 Million USD |
| Architect | Rossetti architects |
| Tenants | |
| Real Salt Lake (MLS) (2008-present) | |
Rio Tinto Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in Sandy, Utah, USA, and the home of the Major League Soccer team Real Salt Lake.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the stadium took place on August 12, 2006. Included in the ceremony were members of Real Madrid and David Beckham. Funding plans for the stadium were rejected twice before a revised proposal was introduced the day before Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts' self-imposed deadline on obtaining funding for a new stadium or selling the team. The stadium seats 20,000 people.
The stadium opened on October 9 2008 when Real Salt Lake hosted Red Bull New York.[1][2]. It will host the 2009 MLS All-Star Game.[3]
Financing
The financing plan for the stadium collapsed between January 26 and 29, 2007 after the county's Debt Review Committee voted to oppose the stadium plan as not viable. Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon was obliged to agree as was the Utah House Speaker Greg Curtis.
However, a new stadium proposal was made on February 2, which would divert 15%, roughly $2 million a year, of the county's hotel taxes to the stadium project beginning in July until 2015. [3] The bill was passed by the State Senate, and later the assembly. Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. signed the bill on February 9, 2007.
Naming rights
On 28 September 2008, it was announced that the naming rights to the stadium were sold to Rio Tinto in a fifteen-year deal worth between $1.5 million and $2 million per year.[4]
References
- ^ "RSL confirms Oct. 9 stadium opening". The Salt Lake Tribune. 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ [1][2]
- ^ "RSL to host 2009 MLS All-Star game". MLSNet.com. 2008-07-09. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ^ "Rio Tinto gets naming rights to new Real soccer stadium". The Salt Lake Tribune. 2008-09-28. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
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