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SANDY — U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the U.S. Men's National Team's World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica on Mar. 22 would be held in Colorado at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy and Sporting Park in Kansas City, Mo., had also been in the running to host the prestigious game.
The choice caused U.S. Soccer and Real Salt Lake fans who reside in the Salt Lake City area to express their frustration on Twitter. If the match would have been held at Rio Tinto, RSL fans would have had the opportunity to possibly see multiple Salt Lake players on the pitch at the same time — including one for the Costa Rica side.
Twitter user @randalserr, a die-hard RSL supporter, tweeted, "Missed opportunity for the #USMNT. There was a possibility of having up to 4 #RSL players on the field at the same time."
Currently two RSL players are participating in the USMNT January camp, midfielder Kyle Beckerman and defender Tony Beltran. Last season RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando (USA) was called to international duty on several occasions. RSL striker Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica) was also called to international duty last season, representing his country multiple times in 2012.
With speculation that the 800-foot difference in altitude between Salt Lake City and Denver was a possible factor in the decision, fans were disappointed that Rio Tinto wasn't chosen as the hosting stadium.
Twitter user @smackdowntay tweeted, "If the decision was because of the 800 feet that separates SLC from Denver, give me a break. 800 feet won't make a difference."
RSL fan Dustin Roethal, who uses the Twitter handle @papi4481, also reacted to the speculation of the altitude perhaps being a factor tweeting, "My thoughts: KC=great crowd, low altitude. DEN=high altitude, crap crowd. SL=high altitude, great crowd. #nobrainer."
Twitter user @messedupRyan also expressed his frustration of the news that the Salt Lake club and its stadium got overlooked again: "#RSL and the #RioT keep getting over-looked. National TV games and hosting chances like this. Shame with the atmosphere there."
The last time Rio Tinto had the chance to host a World Cup qualifier was in the fall of 2009 when the USMNT faced El Salvador. Dick's Sporting Goods Park last saw a World Cup qualifier match in the fall of 2008.
Kira Terry is a sports writer covering Real Salt Lake for KSL.com. Follow her on Twitter, @kiraterry.
