When You Watched TV: July 11, 2020 in Salt Lake City

When you watched TV on your KSL app you were curious because you heard fans would be filling Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah on Saturday, July 11 for the Real Monarchs return to mens professional soccer. It would also mark the first time since March that fans would fill any seats at any team sporting event in America, giving Utah yet another opportunity to enter the history books. The Monarchs, Real Salt Lake's farm club team, are the defending title winners of the USL Championship -- exactly one level below Major League Soccer where RSL plays. Apparently though, not everyone was as stoked about going to a pro soccer game in the middle of a Covid-19 pandemic. Real Salt Lake fan pages on Facebook were littered with comments from supporters saying it was too soon to return to the stadium. Real Salt Lake tried soothing these fears of fans who had legitimate concerns about contracting the virus in a public place. 

"Our staff has worked diligently to develop a comprehensive plan that ensures that we have a safe, healthy and fun environment for our fans while experiencing a great match at Rio Tinto Stadium,” said Real Salt Lake Chief business officer Andy Carroll in a statement. “The health and safety of our players, fans, staff and community has been the top priority throughout our process in seeking creative solutions to safely open our stadium to fans.  With safe distances between seats and other safety measures in place, we are proud and excited to welcome our fans back as the Monarchs return to the field in defense of their USL Championship title.  We are very grateful to the thoughtful and steady leadership that we have in Salt Lake County and throughout Utah state government in providing this opportunity."

When you watched TV on your app, you probably noticed how empty the stands at Rio Tinto Stadium were, as the Monarchs and Loyal battled valiantly against the visage of the majestic Wasatch Mountains in 97-degree heat on a Saturday afternoon in the desert. The two teams sweated and took numerous hydration breaks. Yet no relief would come to pass for the hometown Monarchs, who ended up losing 1-0 in a stadium that would allow 5,300 people for this historic match. The game featured the Monarchs taking on the San Diego Loyal, who are coached by US soccer legend Landon Donovan. The game itself was not without some controversy, as a Monarchs shot appeared to have hit the top post and bounce across the goal line, however, without video review the goal did not stand. "That's nothing we can control," added Monarchs head coach Jamison Olave, himself an RSL legend. "That's the ref's decision." 

Even with all the star power and a capacity at 5,300, however, the announced attendance at Rio Tinto was just 816. According to RSL Soapbox editor and social media manager Lucas Muller, his estimation was far fewer than that -- he tweeted the number at "between 100-200 people here max for the Monarchs game." Whatever the number actually was on Saturday is clearly up for debate, but the fear of attending a pro soccer match -- especially when up the road in Herriman, the NWSL Challenge Cup pro women's soccer tournament is closed to the public -- is real. For the record, the Monarchs match versus the Loyal was one of five USL Championship games being played Saturday, July 11 across the country. One in particular, in the epicenter of Phoenix, Arizona, was played without any fans later that night. 

When you watched TV on KSL earlier that week, you heard that Jam-On-It, the AAU youth basketball tournament was postponed Thursday, July 9 due to a positive case of Covid-19 being confirmed. What you didn't know is that Jam-On-It would have been held at the Mountain America Expo Center, which is located a block up from Rio Tinto Stadium, sitting kitty corner on 9400 South State Street. "More than 150 teams were involved in the tournament, which is also known as the Rocky Mountain Showcase," read the KSL article in part. "Many players are from Utah, but a good number of participants also traveled from surrounding states." 

Despite the postponement of that gigantic AAU youth event -- which will now take place in 2021, according to tournament organizers -- the Monarchs game played on later that week, at a stadium that was within walking distance. No games had been played at the Expo Center prior to the discovery that a participant in Jam-On-It had Covid-19. Whether or not that individual was a player, coach or official is still unclear. The Salt Lake County Health Department, upon learning of this positive case, "'officially shut down the event, which was scheduled at the Mountain America Expo Center, until health officials 'can complete a thorough investigation into who might have been exposed,'” according to a health department statement.