BRADENTON, Fla. - Major League Soccer today confirmed the dates and times for Real Salt Lake's Inaugural Season MLS schedule, which includes a total of 32 regular-season games, 16 home and 16 away. The complete League slate features 192 games to be played between Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, October 16. During a season that will be marked by the League's 10th season celebrations, the 2005 All-Star break is scheduled for the weekend of July 30 with the MLS Cup champion being crowned on November 13. Television windows and kickoff times will be released in the coming days.
As previously announced, Real Salt Lake's "MLS First Kick 2005" occurs on Saturday, April 2, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., against the MetroStars. RSL FW Clint Mathis and DF Eddie Pope return to the Meadowlands to face their former team one week after representing the U.S. in its World Cup Qualifier at Mexico and one week prior to a Saturday, April 9 tilt against the Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center.
Major League Soccer arrives in Utah with Real Salt Lake's historic home opener at Rice-Eccles Stadium on the campus of the University of Utah on Saturday, April 16, as RSL welcomes Western Conference rival Colorado Rapids in the first of four contests between the two Rocky Mountain clubs for regional bragging rights. The teams also close out their 2005 MLS regular season slates at Rice-Eccles on October 15. Other RSL-Rapids dates include Friday, August 26, at Colorado and Saturday, October 1 in Salt Lake City.
Real Salt Lake joins both the Rapids and the Galaxy as hosts of Monday, July 4 Independence Day contests, with RSL welcoming the MetroStars for their lone Salt Lake appearance. Three weeks later, Real Salt Lake adds a second fireworks extravaganza to the schedule by hosting FC Dallas on Saturday, July 23, during the Pioneer Days celebration.
Defending MLS Cup Champion D.C. United and teen phenom Freddy Adu travel to Utah for their lone appearance on Wednesday, October 5, during the stretch run to the 2005 MLS Cup Playoffs, which will begin the weekend of October 22, inviting the top four teams from each conference. The MLS postseason culminates with MLS Cup 2005 on Sunday, November 13 at the new Frisco Soccer & Entertainment Center, the world's largest youth and professional soccer complex.
Real Salt Lake and All-Time MLS Scoring Leader Jason Kreis travel to Dallas twice this season, first to the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, April 23 and then to the spectacular FSEC on Sunday, September 18. Kreis needs just nine tallies in 2005 to become the first MLS player in League history to attain 100 goals, as he enters the year with 91 careers scores.
Twelve of Real Salt Lake's 16 home games will be played on Saturdays or Holidays at Rice-Eccles Stadium, with three Wednesday night games currently slated as well as Friday, June 3. The team enjoys a very balanced schedule in 2005, with no road stretches or home stands of more than two games. During a nine-week stretch from the July 29 MLS All-Star Break until a trip to San Jose on the penultimate weekend of the regular season, Real Salt Lake departs the Mountain Time Zone only twice: Wednesday, August 10 for a mid-week visit to New England, and Sunday, September 18 at Frisco against FC Dallas.
REAL SALT LAKE CONTINUES TRAINING IN FLORIDA:
Following yesterday's 1-0 win over San Jose in the morning by the RSL "B" team and Sunday night's 2-0 "A" team win over the Columbus Crew, RSL Head Coach John Ellinger rewarded the team with an off day, the team's second since February 1. Real Salt Lake enters its last week of training at the IMG Academy in Bradenton with two games scheduled: Thursday morning against Kansas City and Saturday morning against the U.S. Men's Amateur Team. The team then breaks camp on Saturday for four days prior to convening at Kennedy Airport in New York on the way to Monte Gordo, Portugal. Below is the schedule for the week:
Training Camp at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida (all times ET and subject to change)
• Monday, Feb. 14 - DAY OFF
• Tuesday, Feb. 15 - Real Salt Lake training at 9:30 a.m.
• Wednesday, Feb. 16 - Real Salt Lake training at 9:30 a.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 17 - Real Salt Lake vs. Kansas City Wizards at 10:00 a.m.
• Friday, Feb. 18 - Real Salt Lake training at 9:30 a.m.
• Saturday, Feb. 19 - Real Salt Lake vs. U.S. Amateurs at 10:00 a.m.
Real Salt Lake season ticket packages for the inaugural 2005 season at Rice-Eccles Stadium are now on sale. The RSL 2005 season ticket package features 20 games, including all 16 MLS regular season games and four special bonus games. Real Salt Lake's season ticket pricing consists of a Youth (15 and younger) and an Adult in four price levels. Prices for the 2005 season ticket packages are $200 adult ($180 youth) for the North Goal, $300 adult ($240 youth) for the Corner Flag, $400 ($320 youth) for East Sideline and $500 ($400 youth) for VIP seats. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the RSL Ticket Office at 515 South 700 East, #2R, SLC, UT 84102, by logging onto www.RealSaltLake.com or by contacting the Real Salt Lake Ticket Office at (866) 9-SOCCER.
