Royals FC – Real Salt Lake’s 2018 National Women’s Soccer League entry – today unveiled its name and identity, as well as details and pricing for the club’s inaugural NWSL season at Rio Tinto Stadium, kicking off in the heart of the Wasatch on Saturday, April 14 (kickoff time TBD).
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The new Utah Royals FC circular badge pays homage to several elements of Real Salt Lake’s regal identity, with the profile of a Lioness head commingling with the iconic “Delicate Arch” of southern Utah. A Royals-specific crown lies atop the badge, with several concentric circles providing dynamic motion to the club’s “Claret Red” (PANTONE 201 C), “Cobalt Blue” (PANTONE 2758 CV) and “Victory Gold” (PANTONE 1235 CP) imagery. A stylized ball punctuates the beginning and the end of the “UTAH ROYALS FC” type that occupies the lower half of the circle, representing a connection to the RSL’s pyramid’s other pair of professional teams in Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League.
Related secondary and tertiary Utah Royals FC marks, as well as the inaugural season home and away NIKE jerseys, along with technical and front office staff and player roster decisions will be unveiled on an ongoing basis prior to the January 18 NWSL College Draft in Philadelphia and the club’s February 19 preseason kickoff in Utah.
The first-ever run of t-shirts emblazoned with the official Utah Royals FClogo are initially available at both RSL Team Store locations – Rio Tinto Stadium (9256 State Street in Sandy) and Downtown Salt Lake City (55 East 300 South) – beginning at 10:00 a.m. MT on Saturday, December 2. Additional merchandise options in various colors and styles will emerge throughout the month of December in advance of the holiday season.
Real Salt Lake Season Ticket Members and those who have already submitted information via www.RSL.com/NWSL since the November 16 award of the NWSL’s 10th club to RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen will gain exclusive access to UtahRoyals FCpriority seating locations for one week starting this Monday, December 4, prior to general public sale beginning on Monday, Dec. 11. For both purchase windows, priority will be given to those who have submitted information via www.RSL.com/NWSL.
General seating on the primary level of Rio Tinto Stadium’s lower bowl ranges from $120 to $300 for the 12-game home season, depending on location, while the world-class venue’s premium seating options range from $600 to $1,500 in the Zions Bank Club Seats, Interform Club or Audi Executive Club (all of which include food and other amenities). Ledge Box and Suite options are also available for the 12-game Utah Royals FCNWSL regular season.
2018 UTAH ROYALS FC NWSL SEASON TICKET MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS INCLUDE:
- All 2018 NWSL regular-season home matches (12 games) at Rio Tinto Stadium
- Ticket Exchange Dates for unused tickets
- First right of refusal for potentiall Utah Royals FCplayoff games
- Significant savings over day-of-game pricing
- Discounted Utah Royals FCmerchandise at both Stadium and Downtown team stores, plus other exclusive offers
- Exclusive Utah Royals FC “Meet the Team” Event Invite
- Utah Royals FCInaugural Season Gift
- Special Season Ticket Member rate on additional tickets
- Exclusive presale access to purchase tickets for all non-NWSL events at both Rio Tinto Stadium and Zions Bank Stadium
To purchase 2018 Season Tickets call 844.REAL.TIX or fill out the priority form at www.RSL.com/NWSL. Utah Royals FC Season Ticket Member Hotline is (801) 727.2702 for direct access to the front office. Season Ticket Membership Payment plans are available, with Members able to manage tickets online via www.Flashseats.com or through the “MyAccount” option at www.RSL.com/Tickets.
Utah Royals FC Supporters Group seating area will be located in Sections 28/29 behind the NORTH goal at Rio Tinto Stadium, with season tickets at $120 for the 2018 campaign (this $10 per game area could expand due to high demand).
Four levels of General Seating are available at Rio Tinto Stadium for the inaugural Utah Royals FC campaign, with $300 West Side Front Row seats in Sections 17 and 21 (Platinum Membership) and $240 season tickets in the adjacent rows of those sections (Gold Membership).Other West Side sections reflect a Silver Membership, including 15-16 and 22-23 are priced at just $180 for the 12-game season, as are East Side RioT Sections 1, 2, 37 + Fieldside Areas of 3 & 36.
For just $120, Utah Royals FC Bronze Membership locations are East Side RioT Sections 4, 5, 15, 23-35, as well as the top half of Sections 3 & 36).
(Sections in BLACK above are not initially available for the 2018 season on a full package, 12-game basis)
Numerous Premium Seating Options – which include food & other amenities – are also available in the new East Side Audi Executive Club ($1,500 per seat), the West Side Interform Club ($960 per) and the Zions Bank Club Seats ($600 each). Ledge Boxes for six, eight or 12 people are also part of the 2018 Utah Royals FC setup at Rio Tinto Stadium. Finally, 32 West Side Suites are available at Rio Tinto Stadium in 15-, 18-, and 24-person increments. Please inquire further on Premium options by calling Chief Ticketing Officer Matt Rader at 801.727.2864.
RSL will participate in the NWSL for what will be an historic sixth season. During this past 2017 season, the NWSL celebrated the 500th game in league history – more than the combined total of the two previous women’s leagues – as it continued to push women’s professional soccer to new heights as the best league in the world.
The 2018 season will once again feature widespread national television coverage, as the NWSL Game of the Week appears via Lifetime every Saturday during the regular season, while livestreams of non-National NWSL matches are available on the go90 app and on the league's website. International fans will also be able to continue to watch games on the new NWSL app and a revamped NWSLsoccer.com – both of which will strengthened with additional features and improvements for 2018.
For more information on Utah Royals FC, visit www.RSL.com/NWSL or follow the club socially on @UtahRoyals Twitter, www.Facebook.com/UtahRoyalsFC or on Instagram at @UtahRoyalsFC.
Earlier this week, two-time NWSL Coach of the Year Laura Harvey was introduced as the inaugural Head Coach for RSL’s entry into the National Women’s Soccer League, to begin play in the Spring of 2018, the league’s sixth season.
“Visiting with [RSL Owner] Dell Loy Hansen, General Manager Craig Waibel, RSL Head Coach Mike Petke and others and having the chance to see their vision for the Club locally and the sport nationally and internationally, it was impossible not to get excited about what RSL looks to do for women’s soccer,” said the England-born Harvey, noting that an NWSL return was not part of her initial plan. “The facilities and environment that we will be able to offer our players are world-class. This is a great place for me to continue to develop as a coach, and I believe we will be able to make a huge stamp on women’s soccer not just in Utah but nationwide.”
Harvey, 37, guided the Seattle Reign to the NWSL Final twice in the last five seasons, winning the NWSL Shield for the league’s top regular-season record in both 2014 and 2015. Harvey, who departed the Reign in early November and was targeted for multiple international coaching opportunities, won the NWSL Coach of the Year award following both Shield-winning seasons.
"Our goal is to build the very best women's sports organization in America, and we were advised from the outset that Laura Harvey was the very best coach on the market," said Hansen, just weeks before the club opens the $73 million Zions Bank Real Academy in Herriman, Utah, 15 minutes southwest of Rio Tinto Stadium. "Only 28 days ago was I asked to look into this opportunity, and we knew we not only wanted to join the NWSL as quickly as possible and participate, but we believe that our current infrastructure as well as the development initiatives on the RSL horizon align perfectly with Laura’s vision for how she wants to build a program – again, with the goal of being the best around. Our community is already passionate about women's sports, and we believe that empowering and advancing the women's game accelerates the change to build a better Utah."
During her five years with the Reign, Harvey held the league’s second-best all-time regular-season record at 51-33-26, earning 179 points over 110 matches. Harvey – the lone head coach Seattle had ever known prior to her resignation earlier this month, on Nov. 7 – assumed the club’s General Manager duties midway through its inaugural 2013 season, a post she held concurrently throughout her Seattle reign.
That year, the Reign finished with the second-worst record, but rebounded the following year kick off the campaign with a 13-0-3 start en route to claiming the NWSL’s all-time best regular-season finish in 2014 with a 16-2-6 overall mark and 54 points (2.25 points per match). That historic 2014 season also saw the Harvey-led Reign boast a share of the record for most wins in a season (16, tied with 2017 North Carolina), while featuring the league’s best all-time single-season goal differential (+30) and longest-ever unbeaten streak (16 games).
“Laura’s record of excellence has been proven on both sides of the pond, and she obviously possesses a vast knowledge not only of the NWSL but of international players all over the world,” said Waibel, now entering his fifth season in Utah. “Much has been made of our whirlwind entry into NWSL over the last 10 days, but we have targeted Laura since the outset as the top candidate for this opportunity. She’s certainly the right fit given our club culture and how she sees the game and wants it to be played.”
The British-born Harvey grew up in Bulkington, a village in Warwickshire, England. She attended George Eliot School in Nuneaton and played football for the Coventry City L.F.C. At age 22, Harvey tore her ACL while playing for Birmingham City L.F.C., thus kicking off her coaching career.
Before arriving to the fledgling NWSL in 2013, Harvey served as assistant coach for the England women's national football team at the U-17, U-19 and U-23 levels from 2005-2011. She then was brought on as Manager of Arsenal L.F.C., where from 2010-12 Arsenal was the 2010 FA Women’s Premier League Champion, the 2011 FA Women’s Cup winner, the 2011 and 2012 FA Women’s Super League Champion, and the 2011 and 2012 FA WSL Continental Cup winner. For her efforts, Harvey was named Women's Super League Coach of the Season in 2011.
About NWSL
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is a ten-team Division-I women’s professional soccer league featuring national team players from around the world. The clubs joining Utah Royals FC entry are the Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, Houston Dash, North Carolina Courage, Orlando Pride, Portland Thorns FC, Seattle Reign FC, Sky Blue FC, and the Washington Spirit. Based in Chicago, the NWSL is supported by the Canadian Soccer Association and the United States Soccer Federation. For more information about the NWSL, log on to the league’s official website at www.NWSLsoccer.com.
The NWSL previously added new teams to the league on two occasions – with the Houston Dash becoming the league’s first expansion club in 2014, followed by the Orlando Pride in 2016. The North Carolina Courage were also welcomed into the fold in 2017 following the acquisition and relocation of the Western New York Flash to the Tar Heel State.
About REAL SALT LAKE
Real Salt Lake recently concluded off its 13th Major League Soccer season in 2017. The club’s MLS Cup 2009 victory marked the state of Utah’s only major professional championship in nearly 40 years, the title preceding an historic run to the 2010/11 CONCACAF Champions League Final. Buoyed by a passionate base now approaching 14,000+ season ticket holders, RSL has enjoyed a prominent home-field advantage since building its permanent Rio Tinto Stadium home in Sandy.
In 2015, the club expanded its development pyramid with the addition of Real Monarchs, one of several MLS-operated clubs playing in the USL, the United States’ Division II setup. The RSL Foundation was established in 2016, created with the goals of being active in the community year-round, utilizing the popularity and reach of RSL and the Monarchs in promoting health and wellness in children throughout the region, engaging supporters of soccer to raise funds and volunteer time for various local initiatives.
Lastly, in 2017, Owner Dell Loy Hansen opened the Zions Bank Real Academy – a world-class training facility that will host teams at all levels of the pyramid, from Major League Soccer to USL and U.S. Soccer Development Academy U-19 and U-17 sides.
On Monday, December 4, Hansen and RSL will celebrate the ribbon-cutting of a new North Logan facility, the first of a half-dozen regional training centers aimed at providing opportunity and instruction for children ages 7-14. Each facility will house an indoor field, an outdoor field and a classroom, with a curriculum for player, coaching and referee education.
www.RSL.com/NWSL
