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MLS Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake Weekly Update

September 16, 2008 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


Single-Game Tickets for October 9 & 18 Contests at Real Salt Lake Stadium Now on Sale

Less than four weeks remain until Real Salt Lake Stadium opens its doors to the public, and individual game tickets for the debut events at RSL's new home in Sandy - the team's final two 2008 regular-season games, on Thursday, October 9 vs. New York (8:00 p.m. MT, live on ESPN2) and Saturday, October 18 vs. FC Dallas (7:00 p.m. MT) - are now on sale to the general public. Fans are able to purchase seats for the historic dates at RSL's new home either online at www.RSLstadium.com and www.RealSaltLake.com or over the phone at 801-924-8585, or by visiting the RSL Front Office at the Trolley Corners building (515 S. 700 East, Suite 2R) in Salt Lake City.

Single-game tickets for the final two home contests of the regular season 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).

RSL Closes Tenure at Rice-Eccles Stadium Saturday with Key Clash v. CD Chivas USA

After playing four of its last five games away from home, Real Salt Lake (8-9-7, 31 pts.) will return to Rice-Eccles Stadium one final time this Saturday, Sept. 20, when the Claret-and-Cobalt will welcome CD Chivas USA (8-10-6, 30 pts.) for a match that will mark the Utah MLS side's last game on "The Hill." Kick-off for the pivotal Western Conference clash between the 2005 expansion partners is set for 7:00 p.m. MT. Tickets for Saturday's showdown can be purchased by calling the RSL offices at 801-924-8585, in person at the RSL office at 515 S. 700 East, Suite #2R (Trolley Corners building) in downtown Salt Lake City, or online by visiting www.RealSaltLake.com. Fans that can't make it can follow the action live via RSL's radio partners - JACK-FM 103.1 (RSL First Kick pre-game coverage beginning at 6:00 p.m.) and "Ke Buena" 1600-AM.

With Real Salt Lake clinging to second place in the Western Conference standings by one point over Chivas USA, Saturday's match will take on extra importance as the sides look to qualify for the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs with just six games remaining in the regular season. The contest will mark the final of three meetings between the 2005 expansion brethren, with the sides splitting the first two games earlier this season, both of which were contested at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The "Goats" gained the upper hand in the series opener on April 5, with a 3-1 victory, but Real Salt Lake would strike back for its lone road victory of 2008 to this point on June 14, a gutsy 1-0 win in which a goal from FW Robbie Findley in the 34th minute would stand tall. While Real Salt Lake sits at 3-7-3 all time against Chivas USA, the Utah side has defended its home turf well in the series, going 2-1-2 in five meetings at Rice-Eccles. Speaking of defending its home turf, Real Salt Lake will be looking to close out its 2008 tenure at Rice-Eccles in undefeated fashion, with the squad going 7-0-5 in its dozen home dates in MLS play leading up to Saturday's contest.

Several Events Surround RSL's Swan Song at Rice-Eccles Saturday

Real Salt Lake will have plenty going on surrounding its final home game at Rice-Eccles Stadium against CD Chivas USA on Saturday night, with a plethora of events and ticket options being made available on gameday:

- Both Salt Lake City Parks & Recreation and Salt Lake City School District vouchers will be redeemable at Saturday's contest, with fans able to swap their vouchers for tickets at Rice-Eccles Stadium prior to the match. For more information, contact the Real Salt Lake Front Office at 801-924-8585.

- Real Salt Lake will host a special pre-game contest on Saturday featuring an inter-state club showdown between LOBOS PFC of Utah and Magic United Soccer Club of Idaho. The match, which kicks off at 4:00 p.m. and be played in two 40-minute halves, will feature some of the best amateur talent on display from the Intermountain West region. RSL Head Coach Jason Kreis will take in the match and present the cup to the victor of the contest upon its conclusion. Fans with tickets to the RSL-Chivas USA match will also be able to attend the Lobos-MUSC pre-game, with entrance to the stadium available through Gate A just prior to kick-off at 4:00 p.m.

- RSL's popular Carnival Real festival area in the south Olympic Plaza will be jam-packed for Saturday's Rice-Eccles swan song. This week the gates at Carnival Real will open at 5:00 p.m. for the finale of the X96 FM's "4 Play 2008 Concert Series," presented by The TRUTH, with fans being able to vote on-site which band will be given a spot on the main stage at next weekend's X96 Maverick Big Ass Show at USASA Amphitheatre. Following the X96 festivities, the full allotment of booths in the Carnival Real area will open at 6:00 p.m. For more details, including a list of bands vying for the big stage and how to get your $9.60 ticket for the event, visit www.X96.com.

Nat Borchers to Host Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Night for Saturday's Game v. Chivas USA

Real Salt Lake DF Nat Borchers and the University of Utah Department of Neurology are proud to sponsor Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Awareness Night for this Saturday's match against Chivas USA at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Borchers has graciously provided free tickets for SMA families that would like to come out to the game and support the SMA community and Real Salt Lake soccer. Families interested in taking part in this weekend's SMA Night with Real Salt Lake should contact Benjamin Chisum at 801-585-6873 or benjamin.chisum@genetics.utah.edu by Thursday at 5:00 p.m. to ensure your order can be fulfilled.

While Borchers became a member of Real Salt Lake this past February, he has been active in the SMA community for much longer than that, as his godson and biggest fan, Seth - a type II SMA child - made a huge impact on Borchers' life. "He [Seth] would attend every practice and every game when I was playing in Colorado," said Borchers. "It was inspiring to see his dedication, and equally inspiring was his positive attitude towards the disease." While Borchers is looking to raise awareness of SMA through Saturday's event, he is also hoping to provide an opportunity to create a broader local support system for those families dealing with the disease by bringing them together for similar events throughout the year.

RSL/Coldwell Banker Summer Soccer Series Wraps up this Evening in West Valley City

The Coldwell Banker Summer Soccer Series will conclude this evening, when RSL young guns MF Alex Nimo and FW Tino Nuñez will assist RSL staffers in conducting a free soccer clinic at Centennial Park in West Valley City (5415 W. 3100 South) from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Tonight's clinic will mark the final of five events being held this summer by RSL and Coldwell Banker to reach out to Utah's growing Hispanic community, with additional support for the Summer Soccer Series being provided by Regence BCBS of Utah, Workers Compensation Fund, Zions Bank, Western Union, The Truth, DPR Communications, and Siegfried & Jensen.

Registration for the Coldwell Banker Summer Soccer Series is open to the public and available on-site at all clinics, but a limited number of spots are available. For more details, including how to pre-register, please contact Juan Maldonado (jmaldonado@RealSaltLake.com; 801-924-8592) or Jamie Barton (jbarton@RealSaltLake.com; 801-924-8580) in the Real Salt Lake front office.

Soccer Unites Utah Begins Local Fundraisers for Williams Family with Wednesday's Charity Golf Tournament

Real Salt Lake would like to recognize the efforts of Soccer Unites Utah, 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 RSL MF Andy Williams, after she was recently diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. Soccer Unites Utah would like to thank in advance all the participants that have sold out its Charity Golf Tournament at The Ranches Golf Club in Eagle Mountain, which will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept. 17, with a shotgun start at 8:00 a.m. MT. While all spots in the scramble tournament have been spoken for, media members wishing to cover the event can contact Elliot Fall in the RSL Communications Department at 801-924-8573 or efall@RealSaltLake.com for more information.

Wednesday's Golf Tournament is just one of several fundraisers in the works by Soccer Unites Utah, with a Benefit Soccer Match between Juan Diego and Judge High Schools on Tuesday, Sept. 30, and a Casino Night at the Salt Palace Convention Center on Saturday, October 11 also confirmed. For more information on Soccer Unites Utah, including ongoing and future events and ways you can get involved in the fundraising efforts, please contact Deb Harper at soccerunites@aol.com, or visit www.soccerunitesutah.com.

RSL Stadium to Host USA Rugby Doubleheader on Saturday, November 8

Real Salt Lake President Bill Manning announced last Thursday that the team's new 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 begin at $15 (end zone seating); other categories are $25 (lower sideline), $40 (VIP) and $75 (premium), and go on sale to the general public this Friday, September 19. Real Salt Lake season ticket holders as well as USA Rugby members will have an exclusive window early this week to purchase their respective seats for this event. Please visit www.usarugby.org/goto/usa_doubleheader for more information on the matches. For more information on the Stadium or for ticket information, please visit www.RSLstadium.com or call 801-924-8585.

Real Sports Update: (Belt) Buckle up for the Real Sports Item of the Week

The RSL Merchandise Department is giving Real Salt Lake fans a true taste of Western style this week by offering up the newly-arrived pewter RSL Belt Buckle for $25 as its Item of the Week. Fans can mosey on over to the main RSL Merchandise Office in the Trolley Corners building (515 S. 700 East, Suite 2B-1) during the week to saddle up to the deal, or wait until Saturday's Rice-Eccles Stadium finale against Chivas USA, where the Belt Buckle will also serve as the special Item of the Game.

To get a closer look at the new RSL Belt Buckle, check out Real Sports' weekly update on the team's official blog, Behind the Shield, at www.RSLtotheCore.com. Fans can also always head over to the RSL Merchandise Office and the Real Sports kiosk at Valley Fair Mall (3601 S. 2700 West in West Valley City) to purchase the latest and greatest in officially-licensed RSL/adidas merchandise. In addition, this weekend Real Sports will take its traveling merchandise show to Quinn's Junction in Park City for Sunday morning's home finale in MLS Reserve Division play against Chivas USA.

RSL Reserves Update: RSL Welcomes Chivas USA Sunday for 2008 Reserve Division Home Finale

Following Saturday night's League tilt between Real Salt Lake and CD Chivas USA, the two rivals will reconvene on Sunday morning at the Quinn's Junction Sports Complex in Park City for an MLS Reserve Division fixture at 10:00 a.m. MT. The Sunday morning affair will mark the sixth and final home contest in 2008 for the RSL Reserves, who have treated fans to an average of over four goals a game while compiling a 4-1-0 record at Quinn's. As always, admission to RSL Reserves games at Quinn's Junction - located at 3844 Old N. Highway 40 just outside of Park City - is open to the public.

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