SALT LAKE CITY - Real Salt Lake officials announced today that the 2nd Annual RSL Kickoff Luncheon presented by Utah Foods Services and benefiting United Way of Salt Lake scheduled for Monday, April 10 at 12:00 p.m. at The Depot is a sellout with 400 guests confirmed, doubling last year's attendance. The 2nd Annual RSL Kickoff Luncheon launches "Real Week" and five days of activities leading up to Real Salt Lake's 2006 home opener against the New York Red Bulls at Rice-Eccles Stadium at 7:00 p.m.
The 2006 luncheon features Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber as keynote speaker as well as RSL Owner David W. Checketts and United Way of Salt Lake President and CEO Deborah Bayle Nielsen. Luncheon guests will be sat with players and coaches from Real Salt Lake, receive a complimentary ticket voucher good for any 2006 RSL home contest and have an opportunity to participate in the silent auction that features RSL and MLS memorabilia, unique experiences and opportunities, with all proceeds benefiting United Way of Salt Lake. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent under the law.
The following is a list of the other activities taking place during "Real Week" leading up to the RSL home opener.
Tuesday, April 11, 5:00 p.m. MT: U.S. Men's National Team vs. Jamaica Watch Party - Fiddler's Elbow
RSL invites fans to join the RSL front office players & staff to watch DF Eddie Pope and the U.S. Men's National Team battle M/F Ryan Johnson and Jamaica, televised live from the SAS Soccer Complex in Cary, N.C. on ESPN2. The event will be held at Fiddler's Elbow/Salt Lake Pizza & Pasta located at 1063 East 2100 South in Salt Lake City. Fans can pick up their season seat holder gifts, purchase Opening Day tickets, the High Five Pack, or select from various plans and packages.
Fiddler's Elbow/Salt Lake Pizza & Pasta, is also the new home for all RSL post-game and away game watch parties. Fans are invited to bring their families and friends to the new location to enjoy great food and watch your favorite soccer team, Real Salt Lake, in a casual, comfortable atmosphere.
Wednesday, April 12, 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. MT: "Goal! The Dream Begins" Movie Premiere
A limited number of tickets are available for this red carpet event! Due to the outstanding soccer support along the Wasatch Front, Salt Lake City was chosen as one of the select cities to sneak preview a FIFA-produced soccer movie titled "Goal! The Dream Begins" at the Megaplex 12 at the Gateway, located at 165 South Rio Grande St. in Salt Lake City. Between 6:15-7:00 p.m., RSL players will walk the red carpet for photos, interviews, and autographs. At 7:00 p.m., the movie documents the journey of Santiago Munez, who leaves his family in Los Angeles, Calif. and travels to England earning a tryout with English Premier League squad Newcastle United. The film features cameos by the Real Madrid trio of David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Raul, as well as Newcastle United captain Alan Shearer. "Goal! The Dream Begins" is slated for widespread release on Friday, May 12.
Thursday, April 13, 5:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m. MT: The First Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce: Annual Convention
RSL players - MF Douglas Sequeira, DF Danny Torres, DF Gustavo Cabrera and MF Christian Jimenez - will be guests of KSL 5 TV and Zions Bank at The First Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (UHCC): Annual Convention. The players will be available to meet and greet with the local Hispanic public. The UHCC invites all to share its vision at the first annual convention focused on helping your business to succeed. Learn more about their presentations and workshops, renowned keynote speakers, the Business Expo and the first-ever UHCC Membership Forum.
Friday, April 14, noon to 2:00 p.m. MT: RSL Fans & Friends Barbecue
RSL invites fans to participate in a pre-game walk through at Rice-Eccles Stadium during the team's practice before its home opener against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, April 15. The walk-through will be followed by a Fans & Friends Barbecue to be held in the Carnival Real area, where fans will have the opportunity to mingle with RSL players, coaches and ownership.
Saturday, April 15, 6:00 p.m. MT: RSL's Inaugural "VIP Entertainment Series," featuring Alexi Lalas
RSL is proud to announce that U.S. soccer icon, former World Cup star and current New York Red Bulls President and General Manager Alexi Lalas will headline the first edition of VIP Entertainment Series. Exclusively for VIP Season Seat Holders, and starting one hour before every home game, RSL will host a special guest in the Olympic Visitors Center at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Designed to be an exciting pre-game destination, the VIP Series will feature a wide variety of speakers, musicians and local celebrities - with unique insights or connections to Real Salt Lake.
The VIP Series will take place in the Olympic Visitor Center Gallery and Museum, located at the Southwest corner of the stadium adjacent to the main box office off of 500 South. Space is extremely limited to the first 300 people (standing room only) per game. RSVP's are necessary - please email fun@realsaltlake.com with your name and number of guests.
Lalas will be available to the media on the 6th floor press box level at 5:30 p.m. MT for 25 minutes prior to the VIP Entertainment Series engagement.
RSL "NAME THE MASCOT" CONTEST: RSL invites its supporters to participate in its "Name the Mascot" contest. The winner of the contest receives the opportunity to be part of the mascot's "pride" for a selected home game, helping the yet-to-be-named RSL Lion in on-field promotions and in-stadium appearances. The winner will also receive $150 worth of RSL merchandise and 4 VIP tickets (with airfare and hotel rooms) to the 2006 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game! Send your nomination to fun@RealSaltLake.com.
REAL ELITE TRAINING PROGRAM: The Real Elite Training Program is a progressive summer training program for boys and girls ages 8-16 with previous playing experience and a strong desire to reach their maximum potential. There are a total of 18 sessions, three days a week, and two and a half hours per day. The benefits of the program include: exposure to the highest level of training; specializing in technique, tactic, fitness and teamwork; training from RSL soccer players and coaches; and two training shirts and ticket voucher to a select game. For more information, contact Teresa Nelson by phone at (801) 924-8565, by email at tnelson@RealSaltLake.com or by logging onto http://real.saltlake.mlsnet.com/MLS/rsl/player_development/.
MLS CAMPS: The Official Camp and Clinic of Major League Soccer is NOW the Official Camp & Clinic of Real Salt Lake! NEW for 2006, Fantasy Camp and focused Team Training experiences. To find out more about all of RSL's Youth Development Programs, call Scott Reynolds at (801) 924-8575 or by email at SReynolds@RealSaltLake.com. To partner with RSL to host MLS Camps in your community, call us today.
2006 RSL TICKET PACKAGES ON SALE: RSL 2006 ticket packages are on sale and fans can now purchase full season, half season, the "High-Five" pack, flex season and single-game tickets 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.
ACCESS REAL: Real fans can now receive up-to-date information on the team by signing up for the RSL Weekly Newsletter at the fans section of RealSaltLake.com.
