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Richard Piatt ReportingA world-class outdoor sports complex could get a big funding boost if Salt Lake City voters decide to raise taxes on themselves. A 15.3 million dollar bond request for the soccer and fields is one of six propositions on the ballot November 4th.
Also on the list: Improvements to the Hogle Zoo, to the new Leonardo Cultural Center, money to preserve open space in the city to build two new library branches and money for improvements at the Tracy Aviary.
Tonight Political Specialist Richard Piatt continues his profiles of the propositions with this report on the sports complex.
More young people are playing competitive soccer now than ever before in Utah. Yet there are hardly any new places to play. That's why supporters of Proposition 5 say the timing is right for this massive, regional sports complex.
Included in the plans are a number of new fields: 30 for soccer, two for rugby, and two four-plexes for softball and baseball. The space is adjacent to the Jordan River off 2200 North.
Soccer and sports enthusiasts plan to expand the number of people using the space exponentially.
Not everyone shares the vision for this 220 acre plot of land. For example, there's the Audubon Society who would prefer to keep things just the way they are. Then there are concerns about the price tag: 15.3 million dollars, essentially a tax increase for Salt Lake property owners.