Ownership Change at Real Salt Lake

Today marked the end of an era for Real Salt Lake and the club's supporters.  Founder Dave Checketts, who originally brought the franchise to Salt Lake City as Major League Soccer's 12th club, sold his share of the team to Dell Loy Hansen, who now becomes the sole owner of the franchise.  The deal had been previously agreed to by the Major League Soccer Board of Governors.

First off, I need to do something that I try to avoid doing on this blog.  I have to be a homer.  As an RSL supporter and Season Ticker Holder, I would like to personally thank Dave Checketts not only for bringing the club to Utah, but for keeping it here despite some rough times in the early going.  Many folks, myself included, were skeptical about whether Major League Soccer could succeed in Salt Lake.  Some folks were sure that the small market would be forever dominated by the Utah Jazz of the NBA and the local college sports scene.  All credit goes to Checketts and the staff at RSL for not only staying the course, but for bringing the franchise out of the dark days of Rice-Eccles Stadium to the glory and wonderful atmosphere of Rio Tinto Stadium, making RSL into one of the league's top clubs.  Not only has MLS hung around in Utah, but it has flourished, largely thanks to Checketts and his staff.

The big question now is: what's next?  Dell Loy Hansen bought into RSL in 2009 and has been very active in the operation of the club, so it should be a smooth transition.  He's a Native Utah businessman and real estate entrepreneur who has also overseen the development around Rio Tinto Stadium.  One of his passions has been to build first class sports facilities for Utah's youth, much of it in the Cache Valley.  He also served on the State Board of the Department of Business and Economic Development for nine years.  For more on Mr. Hansen's background, see the write-up on RSL's site.

So what does this mean for the RSL supporters and the club?  For the moment. probably not much.  Both Jason Kreis and Garth Lagerway will continue in their respective roles, which largely determine the on-pitch product.  It has been speculated that Hansen has deeper pockets than Checketts does these days, and he said this afternoon that he wants to provide Jason and Garth the resources they need, which is a big relief to RSL fans.  Personally, I don't follow the business side of things in Utah, so I can't say much beyond that speculation.  The deal has apparently been in the works for awhile, so surely Mr. Hansen has had a say in the dealings of the club in the off-season, and the Claret and Cobalt should continue on the same trajectory.

There's always some nerves and trepidation when a football club changes ownership, but from what I've seen on social networks and RSL blogs today, the feelings are pretty positive.  Hopefully under Mr. Hansen's watch, RSL will be able to set the bar even higher in the future.