Earlier this MLS season, Real Salt Lake announced that they were bringing a USL PRO team to Utah. All they need is a stadium now that they have the name figured out. The Stadium needs to be voted upon by Utah Fair Park officials, but right now it looks like it will be built. Dell Loy Hansen said he will pay for the stadium himself which should help the vote get passed by saving the taxpayers from having to pick up the bill.
On Wednesday, the ownership announced the name for their USL Pro club side, The Real Monarchs. Many RSL fans have joked and made fun of the name, hate the name and like the name. On Twitter, there have been more negative responses to the name. Some fans want it to be called the "Salt Lake Warriors". Others want this name to be kept. Overall, the fan base has mixed feelings over the name of the franchise.
The team name makes sense though when you look at it. “Real” means “Royal” in Spanish, if you look at the crests for clubs like Real Madrid and Real Zaragoza in Spain you will see that they each have crowns atop them. By using the nickname Monarchs, the ownership is keeping the branding close to that of the parent club.
It is likely that this team will serve as a de facto reserve team for the parent team in lines with LA Galaxy II. Love the name or hate it, it ties in with the top first-team which will help exposure and building a fan base for the USL Pro side.
During the meeting, Hansen and the Utah State Fairgrounds committee discussed the estimated $14-16 million stadium with Hansen suggesting the board build in the Fairgrounds, Hansen also mentioned bringing a NWSL team to Utah as well. This shows everyone how soccer is growing in the United States, and especially Utah.