For RSL owner, Monarchs stadium in WVC represents 'cathedral' to soccer


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WEST VALLEY CITY — Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen has a lot of memories from the Utah State Fairpark.

Hansen made his name in the construction and real estate businesses in Utah, but before the land deals, investments and monetary success that has come his way, the founder and CEO of the Wasatch Group grew up in Randolph and remembers fondly his days at the Fairpark, loading the family’s 1953 Mercury and a load of black-faced sheep to spend the week at the Utah State Fair, where his father was a multi-award winning geneticist who showcased his rabbits on the grounds.

“I have a different vision of the state fair than most. I lived it as an agricultural kid,” Hansen said. “When I think of the state fair, I have the vision of a grandiose thing that a little kid came to. The state fair was a big day in our lives.”

Hansen wanted to give a gift to the Fairpark, an $18 million soccer stadium for the third-division Real Monarchs. But after political wranglings stalled the deal in the Utah Legislature, Hansen, with his role in the United Soccer Leagues, rescinded his offer sheet last week and looked for another site for what Hansen called his “cathedral” to modern soccer.

The next stop didn’t take long.

Hansen and West Valley City signed an exclusive letter of intent that will give the two sides a 60-day period to finalize a contract for a soccer-specific stadium near the Maverik Center, the two groups announced in a press conference Tuesday.

The letter, which will provide for discussion of an 8,000-seat stadium on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley to house the Monarchs and a Sunday soccer league called Liga Real, is expected to be signed earlier than the maximum closing period, according to Monarchs president Rob Zarkos.

Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen and West Valley City Mayor Ron Bigelow speak about the updated plan regarding the Monarchs Stadium at the Maverik Center in West Valley City on Tuesday, March 3, 2015. (Chelsey Allder/Deseret News)
Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen and West Valley City Mayor Ron Bigelow speak about the updated plan regarding the Monarchs Stadium at the Maverik Center in West Valley City on Tuesday, March 3, 2015. (Chelsey Allder/Deseret News)

“I don’t think we needed that much time, but they’re pretty standard at either 60 or 90 days,” said Zarkos, whose club begins its inaugural season March 22 at L.A. Galaxy II. “I wanted to do the shorter one because I want to get it done before that. It’s just happening so fast, and we want to get moving. The season’s starting, so it all came together pretty quick.”

Once the ink on the contract is dry, Zarkos and Hansen expect to begin building the stadium by late spring or early summer 2015. The stadium could be available for games as early as the middle of the Monarchs’ 2016 season.

Hansen wanted to get the deal done at the Fairpark for personal reasons. But the excitement around West Valley City Mayor Ron Bigalow and the City Council was impossible to turn down. RSL rescinded its offer to the state fair last week, and the two sides worked through several late nights to ensure a deal could be done in as short a time as possible.

“When you meet with the (City Council), they’re prepared,” Hansen said. “They’ve been to these rodeos before, and they’ve all been here for 15 years; they know the opportunity to get things done.

“I’m a detailed developer … and they match my wits. I was dealing with a group of equals who knew how to get things done the best way. We really aren’t asking for a lot of capacities. We want cooperation and support, but we are willing to use a lot of our own money. That’s different; they don’t hear that often.”

Hansen said the West Valley stadium could exceed the Fairpark stadium’s planning, and could potentially cost from $20-23 million. In addition to the Monarchs, the new site would likely host a professional women’s soccer team, pro lacrosse and rugby franchises and an amateur league every Sunday called Liga Real — a longtime pet project of Hansen’s that would allow everyday members of the community a chance to play at the stadium and compete in a weekend league.

The stadium would be fully financed by Hansen and RSL, with cooperation from the city government for things like land leases in an area already zoned for business and entertainment development.

“I’m late in life. I don’t need to take money to be successful,” Hansen said. “I would like to leave something in the community that is iconic and that we can all be proud of. That’s the beauty of where we sit right now. Real Salt Lake is a well-operated organization, very successful in its own right, and that lets us expand to other vertical venues to build a pyramid of value right here in Utah.

“We’re not willing to be the eighth-best soccer state. We want to be first or second. We’re on a quest.”


I would like to leave something in the community that is iconic and that we can all be proud of. That's the beauty of where we sit right now. Real Salt Lake is a well-operated organization, very successful in its own right, and that lets us expand to other vertical venues to build a pyramid of value right here in Utah. We're not willing to be the eighth-best soccer state. We want to be first or second. We're on a quest.

–RSL owner Dell Loy Hansen


Hansen and RSL president Bill Manning met with National Women’s Soccer League Commissioner Jeff Plush on Monday to discuss a potential expansion franchise for the nascent nine-team league. The team could begin play within a couple of years of the stadium’s finish, and would likely build on RSL’s current RSL Women amateur team, club officials said.

“I’m just trying to keep up with Dell Loy,” Manning said. “He is an amazing owner.

“He’s a serial builder. He’s investing in the stadium at all times, and he’s investing in our team, as well.”

The stadium doesn’t just benefit the RSL, either. Bigalow said the new site, which would likely be near the Maverik Center and its myriad hotel, dining and entertainment options, would find a market already accustomed to soccer as a passion.

“Soccer is an integral part of our community,” the West Valley City mayor said. “Now to have Real Monarchs and this organization will be a great blessing to our community. It has a ready-made fan base, and we look forward to supporting them here. We look forward to make this relationship that looks forward to the future.

“We’re just glad to have you here.”

RSL received several offers for a permanent home for the Monarchs, including several in the Salt Lake Valley and others in the state of Utah. But West Valley City’s rush to the forefront following the Fairpark deal’s dismissal made them impossible to ignore, Zarkos said.

“You have the local fans that will be here. You have TRAX that comes right to this area that will help us out,” he added. “These guys came in so fast, it made absolute sense. It’s been so much fun working with them in the short amount of time we’ve had. I think it’s going to be a pretty good partnership. I’m really excited about it.”

RSL and the Monarchs have high expectations for the new stadium site.

“This is going to be the best minor-league soccer stadium in the country,” Manning said. “When Dell Loy does something, he does it right.”

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