Fans React To Announcement Of Plans To Sell Real Salt Lake
Aug 30, 2020, 7:11 PM | Updated: Feb 14, 2023, 12:23 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — Several fans reacted to the announcement that RSL club owner Dell Loy Hansen is putting his franchise up for sale, saying they hope this is a turning point for all three teams — Real Salt Lake, FC Royals, and the Real Monarchs.
Those at Rio Tinto Stadium said they’re hoping the fans support will be enough to keep the teams in town.
With the rush of Saturday night’s game, it appears the winds are indeed changing for Real Salt Lake.
“It has taken a lot of wind out of my sails, what effort I want to put into recruiting players and building a great team,” said Dell Loy Hansen on Radio From Hell.
After a week on bumpy waters for Club Owner Dell Loy Hansen, the tide has turned.
“Nothing would be different if he hadn’t gone on the radio,” said Kyle Sipple, host of the RSL Soapbox podcast. “I’m surprised in the way it happened, but not that it did happen.”
Commissioners for Major League Soccer and National Women’s Soccer League confirm Hansen is selling all 3 teams.
Sipple grew up with RSL and says he saw the writing on the wall
“This has been a long time brewing,” Sipple said.
Another loyal fan, Jake Simons, also predicted something like this would happen, but not this soon.
“I didn’t wake up thinking today is the day that we get the announcement,” said Simons, co-host of the RSL Show podcast.
Simons said he suspects the pending MLS investigation into allegations against Hansen played a role.
“Maybe it was just too much? We don’t really know,” he said. “The other side of that is: get the money while you can.”
“It’s been a long 7-8 years of the Dell Loy regime,” said Josh Clark, co-host of the RSL Show podcast. “This is up there — top 5 — with the championships, with the wins and losses of those championships. This is a big deal. I think it’s great!
Die hard fan Josh Clark feels the franchise is well-anchored in Utah.
“I think they really do have enough under it — between the stadium, the history, the fan base is really good — it has just been underserved,” Clark said. “You have the Academy, the Royals, the Monarchs. There is so much there.”
“It’s a billion dollar proposition to move the team,” said Simons.
Fans already have their eye on some deep pocketed investors.
“Jozy Altidore,” said Simons. “Ryan Smith from Qualtrics mentioned he might be interested. Donovan Mitchell.”
“It’d be really cool if the Millers got involved just because everybody loves the Utah Jazz,” said Clark.
In the meantime, Clark says fans will be there to weather any storm with their team.
“There is nothing like soccer and fan base — so to stand with a team, with this kind of fight, with this kind of challenge, it feels good,” said Clark.
Hansen issued a statement saying they are fully invested in supporting the transition to new ownership for the 2021 season.
