• Click here for items available for auction
BRADENTON, Fla. - Real Salt Lake, Major League Soccer's 12th team, and the Columbus Crew announced today details regarding an unprecedented online auction to benefit the Tom Fitzgerald Scholarship Fund, leading up to and following Sunday's 4:00 p.m. MT contest between the teams at the University of Tampa's Pepin Stadium. The auction is part of the Tom Fitzgerald Memorial Soccer Festival that is being held this Sunday, February 13, in Tampa, Fla.
The
auction begins at 10:00 a.m. MT on Sunday
and will run for five days, until 10:00 a.m. MT on Friday. Bidding will be hosted through eBay and will be available via RealSaltLake.com, thecrew.com, dcunited.com and ut.edu/sports. Minimum bids for each item will be listed on-line. Details on bidding and payment will be available online.
All proceeds from the festival and auction will help fund the Tom Fitzgerald Memorial Scholarship named after the former MLS and University of Tampa head coach, who died in December from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident.
"Tom Fitzgerald was a very dear friend of mine and to be able to participate in a soccer festival in his honor means a lot to me," said RSL Head Coach John Ellinger. "Having these historic RSL items benefit Tom's legacy to the sport in this country is indescribable."
Items available for auction will include:
• A 2005 Real Salt Lake autographed Eddie Pope jersey
• A 2005 Real Salt Lake autographed Clint Mathis jersey
• Two 2005 Real Salt Lake Team autographed balls
• Two 2005 Columbus Crew team autographed balls
• A 2005 Crew team autographed yellow jersey
• A 2005 Crew team autographed black jersey
• A 2005 Crew autographed Chad Marshall jersey
• A 2005 Crew autographed Frankie Hejduk jersey
• A 2005 Crew autographed Edson Buddle jersey
• A 2005 Crew autographed Ante Razov jersey
• A 2005 Crew autographed Jon Busch jersey
• A 2005 Crew autographed Robin Fraser jersey
• Four tickets on the Crew VIP deck and a parking pass to any 2005 Crew regular-season home game
• A Los Angeles Galaxy autographed Carlos Ruiz jersey
• A 2005 Team signed D.C. United preseason jersey
• A Crew summer camp of your choice
• A bag of adidas gear
• An autographed adidas ball from retired Indiana University soccer coaching legend Jerry Yeagley
• An autographed jersey from the 2004 NCAA Division I Soccer Champion Indiana Hoosiers
(including RSL goalkeeper Jay Nolly)
• Numerous Tom Fitzgerald personally-owned items
The day's events will be held on the campus of the University of Tampa and will feature Real Salt Lake facing Columbus at 4:00 p.m. MT at Pepin Stadium. The day will also include a Youth Soccer and Goalkeeper Clinic (9 a.m.-12 noon), a Coaching Symposium (12 noon - 1 p.m.) and the U.S. U-17 National Team vs. D.C. United contest (2 p.m.). The RSL v. Crew game can be heard online through MLSnet.com, the Official Website of Major League Soccer.
The cost of admission for the festival for adults 18 and older is $12, $7 for kids 12-17, and $5 for children under 12. Tickets can be purchased by calling (813) 253-6240, ext. 3100. All proceeds from the event will fund the Tom Fitzgerald Memorial Scholarship at the University of Tampa. Donations can also be mailed to: Tom Fitzgerald Memorial Scholarship Fund; University of Tampa; 401 W. Kennedy Blvd., Box I; Tampa, FL 33606. For further information, please contact Adrian Bush at (813) 253-6240 ext. 3407 or 3184 or abush@ut.edu.
REAL SALT LAKE CONTINUES TRAINING IN FLORIDA:
Following today's scrimmage against D.C. United, RSL resumes training tomorrow before Thursday afternoon's scrimmage against Ellinger's former U.S. U-17 squad. Below is the schedule for the week:
Training Camp at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida (all times ET and subject to change)
• Friday, Feb. 11 - Real Salt Lake training at 4:00 p.m.
• Saturday, Feb. 12 - Real Salt Lake training at 10:00 a.m.
• Sunday, Feb. 13 - Real Salt Lake vs. San Jose Earthquakes at 10:00 a.m.
• Sunday, Feb. 13 - Real Salt Lake vs. Columbus Crew* at 6:00 p.m.
*First Annual Tom Fitzgerald Memorial Soccer Festival in Tampa, Fla.
• Monday, Feb. 14 - DAY OFF
• Tuesday, Feb. 15 - Real Salt Lake training 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.
