RSL to host 2009 MLS All-Star game

SALT LAKE CITY -- Real Salt Lake will have a chance to break in their new soccer stadium in style a season from now.

Major League Soccer president Mark Abbott announced on Wednesday that RSL will play host to the 2009 MLS All-Star Game in its soon to be completed stadium in Sandy. It will be the 14th all-star game for the league and its first in Utah.

A host of dignitaries were on hand for the announcement, including Real owner Dave Checketts and Utah Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.

For RSL and its supporters, hosting an MLS All-Star Game so quickly seems like a perfect cherry to top the often-turbulent efforts to fund and construct the stadium.

Huntsman, an ardent supporter in getting RSL public funds for its stadium early on, sees an event like this raising Utah's profile across the sporting landscape.

"From a sports promotion standpoint, this is another step up in proving the point we are in fact a world-class destination," Huntsman said.

Checketts had lobbied to host an all-star game since RSL began MLS play in 2005. A deciding factor in finally landing the bid, besides the new stadium, was the extensive fan support RSL has enjoyed in Utah.

"We chose to have the game here for a number of reasons," Abbott said. "One is the tremendously strong fan base that is in the Salt Lake area and in Utah. We've seen that in the years we've had the team here and we wanted to reward that fan base by having one of our jewel events in this community."

Jeff Robins, president of the Utah Sports Commission, estimates that hosting the MLS All-Star game will be worth $2 million to 4 million in economic impact alone for the state and pull in another $2 million in media value.

As the league has done for the past several seasons, the 2009 All-Star Game will match a team composed of the top MLS players against an elite international club. Which club will travel to Utah is still undetermined and an agreement will likely not be finalized until sometime early next year.

Checketts told reporters after the press conference that Real Madrid is a possibility for the MLS All-Star game based on their long-standing relationship with RSL. It isn't a sure thing, however, given that the club pulled out of an exhibition match originally scheduled for August 9 at Rice-Eccles Stadium earlier this summer.

A demanding schedule could make bringing Real Madrid to Utah in 2009 a long shot at best.

"That would be the first choice," Checketts said. "Those guys are so hard (to bring in). Their schedule and the things they do, that's going to be tough. It's a big wish."

Checketts is confident that the new stadium will prove a nice asset for RSL as it negotiates to bring higher profile international clubs to Utah for exhibition matches in the future.

"The one problem we have consistently at Rice-Eccles is people don't want to play on turf," Checketts said. "We'll have an easier time getting friendlies and getting big clubs here."

The All-Star Game will be broadcast on ESPN and Univision when it is held in either late July or early August next year. Soccer fans in nearly 100 countries are expected to tune in for the match when it is held.