The SLC Council is expected to vote on Tuesday, January 12th on the future of the Sports Complex authorized by voters in 2003. In view of recent opposition, it is vital that the soccer community speak out to encourage to the Council to honor the will of the electorate by authorizing the release of the funding for the project.

The future of this project is at stake. On Tuesday, January 5th, Mayor Ralph Becker presented a master plan for the project and requested authorization to proceed with the first phase of the facility. Phase one includes 13 soccer fields and two baseball diamonds. It also provides for the extension of the Jordan River Trail and preservation of a 23-acre buffer zone adjacent to the river. Unfortunately, certain "environmentalists" have raised objections to the project based on inaccurate information and false premises (see below).

Here is the real choice for the Council. The City can either preserve 160 acres of green space by transforming this land into a first-class sports complex, or the City can lose both the land and the money (namely, both the $7.5 million contribution from Real Salt Lake and the $15.3 million authorized by Proposition No. 5).

It is time for the soccer community to be seen and heard. Here are three ways to express your support for the Sports Complex.

1. Attend the City Council meeting on Tuesday, January 12th at 7:00. The meeting will be held in the City Council chambers in the City/County Building at 450 South State Street. Wear something that identifies you as a supporter of soccer.

2. Submit a comment to the Salt Lake City Council online at
http://apps.slcgov.com/general/absolutefp/councilAll.htm.; Chose the "Regional Athletic Complex (soccer)" from the drop-down issue box.

3. Call or email your City Council member to express your support for this project. Please email your comments to both your City Council member (see below) and the whole Council at council.comments@slcgov.com

Carlton Christensen (Rose Park, Westpointe, Jordan Meadows). Carlton.Christensen@slcgov.com

Van Turner (Glendale, Fairpark, Poplar Grove). Van.Turner@slcgov.com

Stan Penfold (Avenues). Stan.Penfold@slcgov.com

Luke Garrott (Central City/Downtown/University). Luke.Garrott@slcgov.com

Jill Remington Love (Liberty Wells, Yalecrest, Wasatch Hallow): Jill.Love@slcgov.com

JT Martin (Yalecrest, Foothill/Sunnyside). JT.Martin@slcgov.com

Soren Simonsen (Sugarhouse/Highland Park/Country Club): Soren.Simonsen@slcgov.com

Please let the City Council and Mayor Becker know that Salt Lake City needs to follow through on Proposition No. 5 to meet our soccer community's urgent need for quality facilities in Salt Lake City. Thank you, in advance, for taking a few minutes to contact our elected officials about this important project.

Paul C. Burke
Past President, Utah Youth Soccer Association

The Truth About the Salt Lake Sports Complex.

Myth: The site of Sports Complex is ecologically critical.
Fact: The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources conducted a study of this site and concluded that "...it would be an exaggeration to claim that the park holds great biological or ecological significance." A copy of this report is available [here]. Because this site is surrounded by a freeway, an airport, a housing development, an off-road vehicle park, and an oil refinery, this area will never be Yellowstone. But we can construct a gem of a park that will benefit generations of Salt Lake residents.

Myth: There are other potential sites for the Sports Complex.
Fact: No other viable sites exist, according to Mayor Ralph Becker and Rick Graham, SLC Director of Public Services, at the Council meeting on January 5, 2010.

Myth: This proposed site could become a nature preserve.
Fact: As Rick Graham explained at the City Council meeting on January 5th, the land was conveyed to Salt Lake City based on the expectation that the Sports Complex will be built. If the City does not move forward, the State of Utah will likely reclaim ownership of the property and develop it in a less environmentally sensitive manner.

LMyth: This site was not identified before the passage in 2003 of Proposition No. 5.
Fact: The precise site of the proposed Sports Complex was identified in the voter information guide sent to every registered voter by Salt Lake City. An early design for the site was already released and widely disseminated before the election.

Myth: The Sports Complex would not be good for the environment.
Fact: This project will preserve nearly 160 acres of open, green space along the Jordan River corridor in the northwest quadrant of Salt Lake City. There will be a 23-acre natural buffer between the fields and the river's west edge, and the facility has been designed to meet and exceed FEMA floodplain rules. This project will also facilitate the completion of the Jordan River Trail to the Davis County line. On August 12, 2003, Jeff Salt of the Great Salt Lake Water Keepers encouraged the Salt Lake City Council to move forward with the project, saying that soccer fields would constitute an acceptable use of the land---and even an improvement compared to the current usage.