SANDY, Utah (Thursday, May 19, 2016) – Rio Tinto Stadium will reopen after a six-week midseason hiatus to host a Fourth-Round Match in the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, as Real Salt Lake returns to Utah soil on Tuesday, June 14 at 8:00 p.m. MT. The Claret-and-Cobalt face off against the Third-Round winner of the Wilmington Hammerheads (USL) at Miami FC (NASL), who compete on the first day of June for the right to travel to Sandy in the 103rd edition of U.S. Soccer’s longest ongoing tourney.
The match will be included in 2016 Real Salt Lake Season Ticket Memberships by using “BONUS GAME A” from printed or electronic full-season packages. RSL and Real Monarchs season ticket members also have an opportunity to secure additional seats, with preferred prices varying by location and ranging from $15 to $60. RSL and Monarchs STM’s can call 801.727.2702.
The general public sale – starting at just $20 – for Rio Tinto Stadium’s Grand Re-Opening is slated for Tuesday, May 24 at 10:00 a.m. MT via the stadium box office, www.RSL.com or by calling 844.Real.Tix. All ticketholders for the June 14 contest will be able to experience a revamped “Carnival Real” on the Stadium’s East Lawn – activities opening at 6:00 p.m. MT – with a 3-hole mini footgolf course, playground, 35-foot obstacle course, inflatables and more activities on the way.
The 8:00 p.m. MT kickoff will be the first on Rio Tinto Stadium’s new field, replaced after the club’s 2-1 win over Houston on April 30, during RSL’s active five-game road trip, which concludes June 2 at Yankee Stadium in New York City.
RSL owns an all-time 8-2-0 record at Rio Tinto Stadium in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play, outscoring visitors 21-10. Against lower-division clubs, RSL is 5-1-0 at home, losing its 2012 Round of 32 match before more than 17,000+ in a 1-3 shocker to the Minnesota Stars of the NASL. The following year saw RSL host five consecutive games en route to the 2013 LHUSOC Final, which it ultimately lost, 0-1, to D.C. United.
Including MLS “qualifiers” or “play-in” games from 2007-10, RSL’s all-time record in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup contests is 11-11-1, the lone draw at San Jose seeing RSL advance via shootout at Buck Shaw Stadium. All-time, RSL has outscored opponents 41-39 in LHUSOC competition.
Wilmington – the former home for RSL MF Luke Mulholland – won 6-0 on Wednesday night against the NPSL’s Miami Fusion to advance to the next round against the NASL-based Miami FC. Should Wilmington manage a road win at Miami on June 1, the Hammerheads would arrive at Rio Tinto Stadium for an Open Cup match for the second time in its history, as RSL won 2-0 over the minor-league side back in July, 2011, as DF Tony Beltran scored his lone professional goal in more than 16,000+ minutes. That match was RSL’s first-ever Open Cup match at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Major League Soccer sides have won each of the last 16 Open Cup titles, each earning a berth into the subsequent year’s CONCACAF Champions League. A year ago, RSL was eliminated from contention at the Semifinal stage by eventual champion Sporting Kansas City at what is now known as Children’s Mercy Park, site of Saturday’s RSL regular-season trip to KC (6:30 p.m MT, KMYU / ESPN700 AM). RSL won three consecutive home matches prior to the semifinal trip to Kansas, downing the Seattle Sounders’ USL affiliate prior to eliminating two long-time Western Conference rivals, Portland Timbers and LA Galaxy.
