REAL SALT LAKE KICKS OFF 2018 MLS SEASON WITH MARCH 10 HOME OPENER v. LAFC
RSL Hosts Expansion LAFC Saturday, March 10 at Rio Tinto Stadium (1:30 p.m. MT kickoff)
After Opening 14th Campaign Away at FC Dallas on Saturday, March 3
SANDY, Utah(Tuesday, December 19, 2017) – In conjunction with Major League Soccer, Real Salt Lake announced its 2018 regular-season home opener, with RSL kicking off its 14th MLS season by hosting expansion LAFC on Saturday, March 10 at Rio Tinto Stadium (1:30 p.m. MT kick).
Real Salt Lake’s 2018 opener is slated for Saturday, March 3 at FC Dallas (time TBD), with the full 34-game schedule announced in January. This upcoming season marks the ninth time in the last 10 years that RSL opens the season away from home, with the club unbeaten in its last eight season debuts (5-0-3 Win/Loss/Draw).
The Utah side’s Rio Tinto Stadium venue continues to provide a distinct home-field advantage for Real Salt Lake, with RSL running its all-time MLS regular-season record to 87-21-43 since opening the world-class Sandy home on October 9, 2008. During its previous 13 MLS home openers, RSL is 5-0-8 all-time, with a 4-0-5 record in Rio Tinto Stadium home openers.
Real Salt Lake finished the 2017 season as one of the hottest teams in MLS, boasting an 8-3-4 record over the final 15 matches of the season after an emphatic 6-2 road win over the LA Galaxy on July 4. With a mix of youth phenoms and savvy veterans, RSL was among the more exciting teams over the final half of the season and sets up for a dynamic squad kicking off its first full season under Head Coach Mike Petke in 2018.
Season tickets for the 2018 season are now on sale via www.RSL.com or 844.Real.Tix, while the March 10 home opener and the remainder of the Club’s individual game tickets will be available soon following January’s 2018 schedule release.
During the 2018 MLS regular season, each club will play 34 games, including 17 home games and 17 away games. Teams will face each of their conference opponents (10 in the East, 11 in the West) twice during the season with one game at home and one game away. Western Conference teams will play one additional intra-conference game and Eastern Conference teams will play two. All teams will face each non-conference opponent once.
The complete regular-season schedule, along with the national television schedules for the U.S. and Canada, will be announced in January.
MLS enters its 23rd season coming off a 2017 campaign highlighted by the debut of two new clubs (Atlanta United and Minnesota United FC), two new stadiums (Orlando City Stadium and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, both of which RSL is expected to visit for the first time in 2018), an influx of talented young players, and records set for attendance, broadcast ratings and social media engagement. Following the pioneering introduction of video review and crowning of Toronto FC as MLS Cup champions in 2017, the 2018 campaign promises to be another exciting season, with every team within reach of capturing MLS Cup – over the past 11 seasons, MLS has crowned nine different champions (including RSL’s memorable 2009 Cup victory).
About REAL SALT LAKE
Real Salt Lake recently concluded 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 Monarchs captured the 2017 USL regular-season championship, and will open the 5,000-seat Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman in late March, 2018.
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.
In late 2017, Club 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.
Earlier this month, on Monday, December 4, Hansen and RSL celebrated the ribbon-cutting of a new North Logan facility, the first of a half-dozen regional training centers across Utah and Arizona 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.
On December 1, RSL announced that the club’s NWSL entry for what will be that league’s historic sixth season is known as Utah Royals FC, led by two-time NWSL Coach of the Year Laura Harvey. For more information on Royals FC, please visit www.RSL.com/NWSL or follow
@UtahRoyalsFC on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
