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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- If a bill allowing a new hotel tax passes, Salt Lake County could use its revenue for any tourism-related project it wants -- as long as the project is the soccer stadium for Real Salt Lake.
Technically, HB371 would allow a county to levy a 1.25 percent hotel tax for whatever tourism project the county picks.
But there is no question that legislators are expecting Salt Lake County to use it to provide a home for Real Salt Lake.
"Nobody's actually said it to me, but certainly that's the implication," county Mayor Peter Corroon said. "You listen to the walls up at the Legislature."
If the funding plan meets Corroon's criteria, he is more than happy to help Real Salt Lake, he said.
Corroon said he won't be comfortable allowing the hotel tax revenue to go to the soccer stadium unless the project and its funding benefit all county residents, the funding comes primarily from non-Utah residents and the proposal protects the county's triple-A bond rating.
He also said Sandy must be a partner in the funding, and Real Salt Lake must support youth soccer programs in the county.
If the soccer team's funding proposal does not meet Corroon's standards, he said he will not sign off on it, despite what the Legislature wants.
"If we are presented something that doesn't make sense, we're not going to do it, bottom line," Corroon said. "But if we can help, we'll help. You never want to cross a legislator."
Real Salt Lake plans to break ground on the 20,000-seat stadium within the year. With the rising price tag now at $145 million, the Major League Soccer team wants the county to fund $45 million to pay for the infrastructure and land.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
