Real Salt Lake "Bullish" on Rio Tinto Stadium Opener Thursday Night

The eyes of the soccer world will be firmly fixed upon Sandy, Utah, this Thursday October 9, when Real Salt Lake will open up its tenure at its new home of Rio Tinto Stadium with a pivotal match-up against the New York Red Bulls. Kick-off for the ESPN2 "MLS Primetime Thursday" showdown is set for shortly after 8:00 p.m. MT, for a contest that will also air live on RSL's official radio partners - KALL 700 Sports & "Ke Buena" 1600-AM. Gates at Rio Tinto Stadium and the Carnival Real pre-game festival, located in the east plaza outside the stadium gates, will open Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m.

Less than 1,000 seats remain for the historic night as of Tuesday afternoon, so fans wanting to secure their seats should call the RSL Front Office at 801-924-8585 or visit www.RealSaltLake.com or www.RioTintoStadium.com to purchase their tickets while they still remain. Single-game tickets for the final two home contests of the regular season - including RSL's October 18 contest against FC Dallas - are available for $15 (Upper Deck), $18 (North Goal), $25 (Corner Flag), $30 (Lower Sideline), and $60 (VIP), with discounts in each section available for group purchases of 20 seats or more. A limited number of premium seats are available for $75 (Sideline Club), $100 (Club) and $125 (Center Circle).

Real Salt Lake and New York will wrap up their 2008 series with their second meeting in less than four weeks' time on Thursday night. It was the Red Bulls gaining the upper hand at the Meadowlands on Sept. 13, getting goals from FW Juan Pablo Angel and Dave van den Bergh early in the second half to counter RSL FW Yura Movsisyan's tally just before the half in a 2-1 RSL defeat. While that result kept RSL winless in 7 tries (0-5-2) against the Red Bulls franchise, the Utah side has been able to take a point out of their three previous encounters on the Wasatch Front. As the historic approaches with the opening match at Rio Tinto Stadium on Thursday, the dramatic has ruled in that trio of ties contested at Rice-Eccles Stadium, as Jason Kreis hit late equalizers to forge ties in both 2005 and 2006 before watching former RSL striker Chris Brown do the honor last May 5, in a 3-3 draw that marked Kreis' head coaching debut.

Need Info for Thursday Night? Check out www.RioTintoStadium.com

There are always plenty of questions surrounding the opening of any new stadium, and the same is certainly true for Real Salt Lake's new home of Rio Tinto Stadium. And while nobody ever has all the answers, there is a website -
www.RioTintoStadium
- that can answer most any issue in advance of Thursday night's unveiling in Sandy. Information on ticketing, parking, public transportation, concessions, prohibited items and much, much more are available on the new website, which went live just last week. If you can't find an answer to your questions online, please contact the RSL Front Office at 801-924-8585 to get information on any and all issues leading up to the big night on Thursday.

RSL's Playoff Chase Heating Up with Three Games Remaining

While Real Salt Lake urgently awaits to step foot in its new, $110-million home of Rio Tinto Stadium for the first time on Thursday against the New York Red Bulls, just as pressing a matter for RSL will be the continued chase for its first-ever playoff berth. Both teams will have plenty at stake when it comes to postseason hopes on Thursday evening, as they enter with identical 9-10-8 records and 35 points.

While Real Salt Lake was disappointed in not taking the full three points against New England last weekend, the road point it took out of Foxborough could be vital, as it bumped the Utah squad into sole possession of third-place in the Western Conference standings, giving it temporary custody of the last guaranteed playoff spot in the West with three games remaining. Real Salt Lake (35 pts.) can truly control its own postseason destiny from here on out, as it will play teams either even with or immediately behind it in the overall standings - New York (35), FC Dallas (34), and at Colorado (34) - across its final three games.

If the season ended today, the teams shown in bold below would qualify for the playoffs. Their current points (in parentheses), and games remaining [in brackets] are as follow:

* Clinched playoff berth

** Clinched home field advantage

KC holds tie-breaker over DC (goal differential)

^ Colorado holds tie-breaker over Dallas (head-to-head)

Soccer Unites Utah Fundraisers Continue with Saturday's Casino Night at the Salt Palace

Soccer Unites Utah once again invites the community to gather together for a fundraiser on behalf of the family of RSL's own Andy Williams this Saturday, October 11, when the charitable group will host a Casino Night benefit at the Salt Palace Convention Center, located at 100 S. West Temple Street in downtown Salt Lake City. Soccer Unites Utah is a charitable group that is raising funds to offset the costs of chemotherapy treatments and a bone marrow transplant for Marcia Williams, the wife of Andy, after she was recently diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia.

Tickets for the Casino Night event - which will take place from 6:00-11:30 p.m. in Salt Palace Room 155 - are on sale for $50 and can be purchased either online at www.SoccerUnitesUtah.com or at the Leo's Pride booth in the Carnival Real pre-game festival area prior to RSL's opener at Rio Tinto Stadium this Thursday, October 9, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be for sale at the door!

Besides a live auction, DJ and dancing and a whole lot of fun, the $50 ticket includes dinner, 50 casino chips, and a raffle ticket to win an autographed and framed 2002 U.S. Men's National Team jersey. Those wanting to test their poker face can also enter a $100-buy-in Texas Hold 'Em Tournament; however, spots are limited to 32 seats, so those interested in entering are advised to purchase their seat as soon as possible. In addition, several individuals and companies have provided unique auction items to bid on, with the list including:

• One Training session, individual or team, with Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jason Kreis, an autographed jersey worn by Kreis in Soccer Unites Utah's Benefit Soccer match, two tickets to RSL's October 18 game at Rio Tinto Stadium v. FC Dallas, and an RSL Fan Gear pack.
• The complete Twilight Book series, autographed by author Stephanie Meyers; 20 tickets to the opening night showing of Twilight on November 21, (7:00 p.m. MT) at the Jordan Commons Theatre in Sandy; and a Twilight fan package.
• An Eddie Pope framed jersey and boot (thank you to Alpine Framing)
• Two North Goal season tickets to the 2009 Real Salt Lake season at Rio Tinto Stadium
• A private dinner for four by Chef David Kimball, to be wait staffed by a pair of Real Salt Lake players
• Four Jonas Brothers concert tickets to their Nov. 29 show in Las Vegas, a two-night stay at the Excalibur Hotel, and a Jonas Brother fan package.
• A Real Madrid autographed and framed jersey from their visit to Utah in 2006 - including David Beckham (thanks to The Beveled Edge)

For more information on Soccer Unites Utah, including how to purchase tickets to Casino Night and how you can take part in future events, please visit www.SoccerUnitesUtah.com or contact Deb Harper at soccerunites@aol.com.

Real Sports Update: Fans Can Get Geared up at Rio Tinto Stadium on Thursday

The Real Salt Lake Merchandise Department will be at Rio Tinto Stadium all day and night on Thursday before and during the team's historic opener to ensure fans will be decked out in Claret-and-Cobalt ... and whatever other colors their expansive merchandise selection includes! The staff will be set up just outside the East side ticket windows beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday and will remain there until 6:00 p.m., when it will shift over to the Carnival Real fan festival area - also located on the stadium's East side - through kick-off at 8:00 p.m. In addition, when gates open at Rio Tinto Stadium at 6:00 p.m., so will the Merchandise Department's kiosk inside the stadium, which will be located on the northwest side of the concourse.

Fans in attendance can take advantage of a pair of commemorative Items of the Game on Thursday: an Opening Night pennant for $20, or a pair of plastic Opening Night pint glasses for just $10. The RSL Merchandise Department's weekly special on RSL's Behind the Shield blog is sure to please fans of the blog and team alike, as the limited edition "Javi & Kyle Show" ringer T-shirts are available for $20. To see the three different "Javi & Kyle Show" T-shirt designs, please visit Behind the Shield at www.RSLtotheCore.com.

Tickets for Nov. 8 USA Rugby Doubleheader at Rio Tinto Stadium Now on Sale

Real Salt Lake has announced that Rio Tinto Stadium, the state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue in Sandy, Utah, will host a USA Rugby doubleheader featuring teams from New Zealand, Uruguay and the United States on Saturday, November 8. The day of rugby kicks off at 1:15 p.m. MT with the U.S. Select XV Team versus New Zealand Heartland. The main event, which will boast the United States and Uruguay National Teams, will kick off at 4:00 p.m. MT. Tickets to the USA Rugby doubleheader are now on sale to the public and begin at $15 (end zone seating); other categories are $25 (lower sideline), $40 (VIP) and $75 (premium). Please visit
www.usarugby.org/goto/usa_doubleheader
for more information on the matches. For more information on Rio Tinto Stadium or for ticket information, please visit
www.RioTintoStadium.com
or call 801-924-8585.