Real Salt Lake

John Ellinger, 2005—

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First game = MetroStars 0–0 Real Salt Lake
(Giants Stadium; April 2, 2005) | Largest win = Real Salt Lake 3–0 FC Dallas
(Rice-Eccles Stadium; July 23, 2005)
Los Angeles Galaxy 0–3 Real Salt Lake
(Home Depot Center; May 13, 2006)
Colorado Rapids 1–4 Real Salt Lake
(INVESCO Field; August 9, 2006)| Largest loss = Chivas USA 5–1 Real Salt Lake
(Home Depot Center; July 9, 2005)
D.C. United 5–1 Real Salt Lake
(RFK Stadium; August 31, 2005)|

  Supporters' Shield = None |
  MLS Cup            = None |

US Open Cup = None |Real Salt Lake is a professional soccer club based in Salt Lake City, Utah that began playing in Major League Soccer in 2005. The team currently plays its home games at the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium.

The team name has nothing to do with the English word "real"; real in Spanish signifies "royal", and is bestowed on a number of clubs that play in Spain's First Division by the Spanish crown. The Salt Lake City club's owner, Dave Checketts, desired to attach his team to a successful soccer club, Real Madrid, as well as to develop a brand that was clearly associated with 'soccer', leading to the choice of name. The team's uniform and colors were inspired by those of the Spanish national soccer team.

The team's name, which was picked by an online survey, was initially met with derision and pessimism among the fan community. Many fans thought the name should more accurately reflect the Salt Lake area. Such complaints seem curious, however, being that the Utah Jazz of the NBA does not comply with such a standard. In the past year the criticism from local fans and the media has waned.

Currently the club has three fan clubs known as The Loyalists, the Rogue Cavaliers Brigade (RCB) and The Jesters.

History

Their first head coach is John Ellinger, former coach of the Under-17 United States national team and the head of USSF's Bradenton Academy.

Salt Lake City was formerly home to the USL Second Division's Utah Blitzz, who folded about the time Real Salt Lake formed. The Blitzz had won the USLSD's championship in their final year of existence.

In 2005, the Rocky Mountain Cup was created in an effort to create some sort of rivalry right off the bat for the new franchise. The Cup goes to the team that wins the season series between the Colorado Rapids and RSL. The Colorado Rapids claimed the Rocky Mountain Cup in that inaugural season by winning the series 3–1. Even with the added excitement of the Cup competition, RSL's major rival quickly became fellow expansion team C.D. Chivas USA. This was due to the fiercely competitive physical play between the two teams (and perhaps also the fact that they both joined in the same year).

Stadium issues

In 2005 a soccer-specific stadium for the team was approved for Sandy, a suburb of Salt Lake City. However, funding for the stadium was still hard to come by. A vote in early 2006 struck down a funding proposal for the stadium. However, Tom Dolan, the mayor of Sandy, said that he would not give up on his fight to approve the proposal in Sandy. The funding plan was revised, but was struck down later in 2006. The proposal for Sandy was declared "dead" at this point, leaving the team's future in doubt. Dave Checketts said that he wants the team to remain in Utah, but would sell it if a proposal was not put forward by August 13, 2006. Three other proposals have been given consideration. One proposal was presented by Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson that would have built the stadium on the Utah State Fairgrounds. Another proposal was that they could keep the team at Rice-Eccles Stadium, although the team has said that there is no way they could stay at the stadium beyond the 2008 season, and Rocky's proposal was considered constly and unrealistic. The one that has gained the most support is a proposal to give away land in the tiny town of Vineyard, just west of Provo, using no tax money at all, which was the main reason the two proposals in Sandy were shot down (both would have used hotel tax money to fund the stadium). This proposal has gained the most support, although it still has its drawbacks (such as its distance from Salt Lake City International Airport and its lack of public transportation).

On July 13, 2006, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported that MLS Commissioner Don Garber had confirmed that he expects Frank DuRoss, president of the Rochester Raging Rhinos to discuss a deal with Salt Lake that would move the franchise to Rochester, New York [1]. Garber reiterated that he has always wanted to find a way to land a MLS team in the city and that this is one possible way to accomplish that goal. St. Louis was also named as a possible relocation spot for the team as RSL owner Dave Checketts also owns the NHL's St. Louis Blues and their arena.

The Rocky Mountain Cup

With Major League Soccer's expansion in 2005, Real Salt Lake became the second team in the Rocky Mountain region and the Colorado Rapids' closest neighbor. The supporters of the two clubs created a competition between the two sides to foster and memorialize this budding rivalry. Colorado won the Rocky Mountain Cup in its inaugural year, 9 points to 3.

Year	Reg. Season	Playoffs	Open Cup
2005	5th, West	Did not qualify	Third Round

Real Salt Lake: Encyclopedia BETA

Contents

Real Salt Lake

History

Stadium issues

The Rocky Mountain Cup

Stadium

Current roster

Head coaches

Notable players

Team records

Year-by-year

Average attendance

References

External links