SANDY, Utah (Thursday, December 1, 2016) – Real Salt Lake announced plans for the club’s 2017 preseason schedule as it gears up for its 13th Major League Soccer season next Spring. This year, the club’s preparations will feature training camps in Phoenix and Southern California, on either side of the club’s debut in the Portland Timbers Preseason Tournament. As part of the initial two-week stretch in Arizona, RSL will play an exhibition match in Tucson for the sixth consecutive year.
After reporting to Rio Tinto Stadium the weekend of January 21/22, RSL will spend its first 14 days of preseason in the Phoenix/Tucson areas from Jan. 23 – Feb. 4. Dates and times for RSL players required reporting times for entry physicals, media access and photo/video shoots prior to departing for Arizona will be announced in the future.
After a brief return to Utah on Feb. 4, camp will then shift to the Pacific Northwest, where RSL will make the club’s debut in the sixth edition of the Portland Timbers’ Preseason Tournament at Providence Park in the Rose City. During the 10 days in Oregon from Feb. 7-16, RSL will play games against a trio of MLS Western Conference foes: on Thursday, Feb. 9 against the host Timbers; Sunday, Feb. 12 against Vancouver Whitecaps; and conclude the tourney on Wednesday, Feb. 15 against Minnesota United FC.
All three RSL games in the Portland Timbers Preseason Tournament will be played as part of doubleheader matchups in the round-robin tourney on these dates. Individual tickets, which allow entry to both matches each day, start at $10 and are now on sale to the general public at www.timbers.com. Full tournament ticket packages for the preseason tournament, starting at $39, are also available for purchase online.
The Feb. 9 contest against Portland will actually be the third game of the 2017 preseason for the Utah side, as RSL and the New York Red Bulls will play on Tuesday, January 31 and the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday, Feb. 3 in Tucson at the Kino Sports Complex as part of FC Tucson’s annual festivities. Fans interested in watching the Tucson’s MLS preseason tournament in person can visit www.FCTucson.com to secure their seats at Kino.
Prior to returning to Utah for the final week of preparations prior to the 2017 MLS regular-season kickoff on the weekend of March 3-5, RSL exhibition game dates/opponents for the final week of Feb. 19-26 in Southern California will be announced at a later date. The Real Monarchs’ USL preseason logistics will also be announced separately.
REAL SALT LAKE 2017 PRESEASON SCHEDULE (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Preseason Segment #1 – Phoenix / Tucson, AZ

Monday, Jan. 23 – Travel to Phoenix
Saturday, Jan. 28 – Travel to Tucson
Tuesday, Jan. 31 – RSL v. NY Red Bulls at Tucson, AZ
Friday, Feb. 3 – RSL v. San Jose at Tucson, AZ; Return to Utah
Preseason Segment #2 – Portland Timbers Preseason Tournament @ Portland, OR
Tuesday, Feb. 7 – Travel to Portland, OR
Thursday, Feb. 9 – RSL vs. Portland Timbers – 8:30 p.m. MT
Sunday, Feb. 12 – RSL vs. Vancouver Whitecaps – 3:30 p.m. MT
Wednesday, Feb. 15 – RSL vs. Minnesota United FC – 6:00 p.m. MT
Thursday, Feb. 16 – Return to Utah
Preseason Segment #3 – Southern California
Sunday, Feb. 19 – Travel to Irvine, Calif.
Tuesday, Feb. 21 – RSL v. LA Galaxy at Carson, Calif.
Saturday, Feb. 25 – RSL v. TBD
Sunday, Feb. 26 – Return to Utah
Fri. – Sun., March 3-5 – 2017 MLS Opening Weekend
The 2017 Major League Soccer season kicks off in early March, with the entire schedule released in early January, as expansion clubs from Minnesota and Atlanta join MLS' 22nd season as the 21st and 22nd teams. MLS Cup 2016 will be played on Saturday, Dec. 10 (6:00 p.m. MT, FOX / UniMas), with protected lists for the expansion draft and a half-day trade window taking place on Dec. 11 prior to the Atlanta / Minnesota expansion draft on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 12 noon MT.
The 2017 USL season kicks off in April. Season Tickets for the Real Monarchs third season in 2017 are now on sale; please call 844.Real.Tix for more information. Coming in late Summer, 2017, Real Salt Lake's regional training center opens in Herriman, Utah, approximately 20 minutes southeast of Rio Tinto Stadium.
The $50 million facility will serve as the daily training home beginning in 2018 for both of the club's professional teams – RSL (MLS) and Real Monarchs (USL) – while centralizing the club's U-18, U-16 and future U-14 development academy youth selections. The Herriman facility will provide adjacencies for an on-site charter school opening in Fall, 2018, with STEM disciplines (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) for nearly 300 boys and girls.
Three Mondays ago in North Logan, Utah, RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen broke ground on the first of a half-dozen regional training centers across Utah and Arizona to be built in the next 2-3 years. Each $5 million RTC houses a classroom, as well as an indoor and outdoor field, dedicated to fulfilling a curriculum dedicated to the club's vision and mission for youth soccer training and education, and the continued development of both recreational and competitive pre-Academy (ages 7-12) initiatives across Utah and Arizona.
Season Tickets for Real Salt Lake's 2017 campaign at Rio Tinto Stadium are now on sale; please visit www.RSL.com/tickets/royalty or call 844.Real.Tix for more information. An overwhelming percentage of current Season Ticket Members have renewed prior to the early deadline, with several hundred STMs looking to upgrade locations and add seats for RSL's 13th year.
