Real Salt Lake’s practice facility will be used to house much of the National Women’s Soccer League Challenge Cup. But that that’s not the only tournament that will arrive in Herriman this summer.
The Premier Lacrosse League announced Thursday that it will hold a three-week tournament for all seven of its teams from July 25 through Aug. 9. The event, which won’t allow spectators, will feature 20 total games that will be broadcast on NBC, NBCSN, and NBC Sports Gold.
“The support of Utah Governor Gary Herbert, Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen, and the larger Utah Sports Commission have been invaluable in the process of bringing the PLL Championship Series to a reality,” PLL Co-Founder and CEO Mike Rabil said in a statement. “With their world-class operators and state-of-the-art facilities we can bring our best version of the PLL to fans around the world.”
The RSL facility, which opened in April 2018, is owned by Hansen, who is a successful real estate mogul as well as being in charge of RSL, the Utah Royals FC and the Real Monarchs. The training grounds, which feature five full grass soccer fields, a gym and other amenities, has been lauded by the North American soccer community at large.
Hansen’s central ownership of the facility, stadiums in Herriman and Sandy, and a dormitory for the RSL Academy made it easier for the NWSL to host all nine of its teams for its monthlong tournament, which starts June 27. The situation for the Challenge Cup is being deemed a “village environment” combing all of those elements.
It’s similar with the PLL. All players and staff from the league’s seven teams “will be accommodated for room and board, training and competition.” Games will be played at the Zions Bank Stadium, where the Monarchs play their home games.
“The Zions Bank Training Center in Herriman was built for Real Salt Lake and the Real Monarchs to be one of the finest soccer training facilities in the world,” Hansen said. “We also constructed Zions Bank Stadium and the indoor training facility to be versatile enough to host numerous sports, including rugby and lacrosse. The Premier Lacrosse League Championship Series is just the type of national level event we envisioned.”
The PLL’s COVID-19 medical committee calls for players to self-quarantine prior to traveling to Utah, and get tested before and after arriving. Everyone will be subject to regular testing and symptom monitoring after that.
