By MATT STYPULKOSKI
A January proposal to build an 8,000-seat stadium for Real Salt Lake’s new USL club Real Monarchs is now off the table.
Dell Loy Hansen pulled his offer Wednesday for upgrades to make the the Utah State Fairpark the Monarchs home venue. Last month, Hansen had offered to play the full cost of the $18 million stadium in order to expedite its construction. But the deal hinged on the state of Utah extending the lease of the fairgrounds, where it was set to be built, for 40 years.
Those legislative proceedings have stalled and, as a result, Hansen has dropped the plan.
“Unfortunately, the timing and process involved with this project no longer make the venue a viable option for the business plans regarding the Monarchs and ancillary properties,” Hansen said in a statement.
The Monarchs are set to kick off their inaugural season in USL come March and will share Rio Tinto Stadium with Real Salt Lake while the club continues to search for a separate, permanent home.
Here are some more of Thursday’s MLS news and notes:
MANCHESTER CITY SENDS FACEY ON LOAN TO NYCFC
New York City FC’s partnership with Manchester City has produced a new player.
Center back Shay Facey, who signed a new two-year deal with the English Premier League club in 2014 and has been playing for its Elite Development Squad, has been sent to New York City on a six-month loan. He is the first of up to four Manchester City players that NYCFC is permitted to take on loan.
The 21-year-old has been training with the new MLS team since January. On Wednesday, he started and played 60 minutes in the club’s preseason exhibition against the Houston Dynamo in the Carolina Challenge Cup.
Facey has also made a handful of appearances with England’s Youth National Teams, including two for the U-20 squad.
ORLANDO CITY, SPORTING KC SIGN DRAFT PICKS
Both Orlando City and Sporting KC have signed their respective third-round draft picks.
For Orlando City, the newest signing is goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. The 23-year-old was selected 43rd overall out of UCLA.
While in college, Edwards Jr. was twice selected to the All-Pac-12 first team. He started for the U.S. in the 2009 U-17 World Cup and has also played for the U.S. U-20 National Team.
“Earl has shown great potential during the team’s training and friendlies so far,” coach Adrian Heath said in a statement. “His skills and excellent work ethic will benefit the team going forward, and we are excited to continue working with him.”
James Ansu Rogers, chosen by Sporting KC with the 53rd pick of the draft, has also signed.
Rogers, a 21-year-old forward, played for the University of New Mexico. He scored 22 goals and tallied 20 assists in his four years with the Lobos. Prior to New Mexico, Rogers played with both the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake academies.
He has also represented the U.S. at various youth levels, beginning with the U-15 team in 2007 and moving up to the U-20s in 2012.
“We’re very happy for James,” Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes said in a statement. “Because of his persistence and work ethic, he has earned himself a roster spot for Sporting KC.”
D.C. UNITED SIGNS GOALKEEPER TRAVIS WORRA
Former University of New Hampshire goalkeeper Travis Worra has signed on with D.C. United.
Worra, the America East Goalkeeper of the Year in 2013, started 59 games during his college career and finished with a 25-22-10 record. The undrafted 21-year-old spent the summer of 2014 playing with the Carolina Railhawks U-23 squad.
“Travis earned a contract with his showing in preseason,” D.C. United General Manager Dave Kasper said in a statement. “Travis has very good quickness and shot-stopping abilities, and we look forward to getting him into our environment.”
___
What do you think of the Monarchs’ stadium proposal being pulled? How do you feel Facey will fare at NYCFC?
Share your thoughts below.
The guy is worth a pile of money, so if he felt that would make sense, he could sneeze out $20 million with no problem. I think they sell out every game, so I wonder why they don’t upgrade. Does RSL own Rio Tinto? I think a D2 team w their own stadium is actually the best plan.
What’s is RSL owner thinking, spend that money on your stadium for RSL.
Take your stadium to the next level, and your stadium will be hell for all visiting teams. Doesn’t he even know that? Does he know about soccer?
Take your stadium to the next level sir! make it like red bull or skc stadium, close the other end where you have the stage and put a real roof cover.
Who cares about the scenery of the mountains,you can’t even see it and you don’t play in salt lake Or downtown.
I guaranteed if you take your stadium to the next level, this will be the toughest stadium to play in. The fans feel like there on top of you and they love their team, and the monarchs can play at a college stadium.
But seriously, spend those $20 million on your stadium and that might make you the best stadium home advantage in the west, ahead of timbers and sounders and might be the best home advantage in MLS, ahead of skc.
NYC Farm Club. HHHHHHAAAAAAHHHHAAAAA.
14K season tickets sold & counting, move on troll.
Call me a skeptic but I don’t buy the 14k claim. I suspect there is some kind of shenanigans with the Yankees and their season ticket holders going on.
Yeah, the 911 attack was the actions of Aliens, not terrorist lol. Conspiracy theories are just that, unproven facts, with zero evidence to back up claims.
Farm club
McQ has a point…
I used to work in ticket sales for the front office of a top-tier pro team, and season ticket numbers can be inflated in so many different ways.
Of those 14k, maybe 9-10 are actual fans whereas the rest are ticket brokers, or maybe even some sort of deal with the Yankees to split revenue.
Good now provide me evidence, for your claims.
Sure, do a little work on your part though:
Go to Stubhub and pick any two low demand NYCFC games, something like a mid-week game, or if Dallas, or Vancouver come to town. Now, compare the availability of tickets in each one…
You’ll find that a lot of tickets happen to be in the same section and row. Maybe a bunch of them are in rows 1 or 2 of any given section. Why do you think that is?
Because they buy season tickets in bulk to resell. When you buy in bulk and spend 5-6 figures on season tickets, you usually get better seats than the average Joe (and a discounted price per seat.) The brokers resell the less favorable games at a discount, and then when Man City comes to town for a summer friendly, they hike up the prices and make their profit there.
Now, I have no way of knowing how many actual season tickets are brokers, but it is safe to assume that not all 14k season tickets sold went to individual or corporate clients.
….in a city of 8mm+, or at most .00175 of the population…if true.
Right. And every time they don’t sell out, I hope readers on this site criticize the club as sharply as they do RBNY when they don’t fill their stadium.
Suppose it beats being the stepbrother of Liepzig?
I’ll add….. I was the younger brother in my family. 2 older brothers throttled me good…. in good nature of course. The fierce competition with them, playing with their bigger, older, better friends toughened me, forced me to pick up my game to keep up. Time passed, I matured, grew older, kept working…shockingly, I was as good and then…. at some point suddenly better than them.
Point? Yes of course… MLS ain’t the EPL. The USMNT ain’t Germany or Brazil. But it behooves us to humble ourselves enough to expose ourselves, to be schooled/learn from the best in order to improve.
So then is NYCFC the “Super Elite Development Squad” or “Lower Elite Development Squad”?