Soccer Stadium Not Quite Ready for Prime Time

Rio Tinto Stadium is up and running…
Well, almost.
As of 2:45 on Wednesday, the field had yet to be painted and workers were bustling about, putting on the finishing touches. The sounds power saws and leaf blowers were in the air.
Parking for RSL games could be a problem. There is only minimal stadium space on the west side of the stadium. A tiny empty lot sits on the east side of State Street, as well as a small area to the north of the stadium. But none of those is large enough to handle the expected 20,000 fans.
The bulk of the parking will be at the South Towne Expo Center.
One interesting aspect is the Jordan Commons parking area. Jordan Commons is owned by Larry H. Miller, who was publicly criticized by RSL owner Dave Checketts.
On one hand, the Miller might be excused if he were reluctant to let his parking lot be used for a competing team (Miller owns the Salt Lake Bees and the Jazz). On the other hand, that will funnel a lot of potential diners and maybe even moviegoers to Jordan Commons, who otherwise wouldn’t be in the area.
It will probably be a live-and-let-live arrangement.
The stadium itself has a great feel down on the field — a major league atmosphere. The players and fans should love it.