Anti-Real stadium petitioner not optimistic

Those opposed to the deal that will help Real Salt Lake build their stadium in Sandy have until 5pm today to gather 92,000 signatures and them to the county clerk's office, but the man in charge of the petition drive, Brad Swedlund, is not confident that they will get the numbers.

"My feeling is that we are going to be far short," he said. "But the packets are out there and if we get them all back, we might be OK."

Since they are sending the signatures directly to the county clerk, there will be no early count available, meaning we might not know the outcome till next Monday. That is unless it is obvious they feel way short of the 92,000 number.

The clerk has five days to verify all the signatures on the petition.

The longer this count takes, the more nervous those in the Real organization will become. Although they try to downplay it, they must be worried. They need this stadium to make the team a financial success and every delay is a hit. If they have to wait for a public vote, then 2008 will not see an opening date.