Real Salt Lake

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"Where there's a will there's a way," said KSL a couple of weeks back after Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Carroon said "no" to county funding for a soccer stadium in Sandy. So, we're pleased that creative community leaders led by Governor Huntsman found a way to keep Real Salt Lake in Utah.

The decision to use public money to supplement private investment for a soccer stadium is not without risk. Indeed, legitimate questions still loom over Real Salt Lake's business plan and ability to meet its financial obligations.

In KSL's view, though, the long-term benefits of having a Major League Soccer franchise in Utah far outweigh the relatively minimal risk of committing tax dollars to building a parking facility and paying for some of the land where the stadium complex will be built. We agree with the Governor's view that those benefits go beyond the game of soccer and literally "reverberate through the marketplace."

Who, for example, can quantify the value of fans worldwide watching Freddy Adu square off against David Beckham on a soccer field in Utah?

Now that the decision has been made to go ahead with the stadium, it is important for Utahns to set aside months of acrimonious debate and get behind the effort to see that Real Salt Lake succeeds.