governor’s state of sport awards

Event of the Year: Utah Royals FC Home Opener

By Real Salt Lake

April 11^th, 2019

Just 150 days after Dell Loy Hansen announced he was bringing professional women’s soccer to Salt Lake City, Utah, Utah Royals FC played the club’s inaugural home match in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 19,203 fans at Rio Tinto Stadium and a national television audience.

With U.S. National Team stars like Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O’Hara, and Amy Rodriguez, and international standouts like Rachel Corsie, Gunny Jonsdottir and more, Head Coach Laura Harvey and her staff gave Utah a team to be proud of throughout the season. However, nothing compares to the excitement of the inaugural home opener.

The robust attendance number was not only the highest of the four National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) matches over the weekend, but it exceeded that of seven of the weekend’s 11 MLS matches as well. The Royals finished second in the NWSL in total attendance.

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