Zions Bank Stadium is a

soccer-specific stadium Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi- ...

Herriman, Utah Herriman ( ) is a city in southwestern Salt Lake County, Utah. The population was 55,144 as of the 2020 census. Although Herriman was a town in 2000, it has since been classified as a fourth-class city by state law. The city has experienced rapi ...

, United States, with a seating capacity of 5,000. The stadium is home to

Real Monarchs Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of, the Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. While the senior club is ...

, a

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro is a men's professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer. It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and will expand to 28 in 2023. The league comprises 27 reserve sides for MLS clubs ...

team affiliated with

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

, and the

Utah Warriors The Utah Warriors are a professional rugby union team that competes in Major League Rugby, the top-level rugby union competition in the United States and Canada that played its first season in 2018. The team is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and ...

, a

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

team. The stadium is part of the $78 million Zions Bank Real Academy, which includes the academy and training facilities for Real Salt Lake, and is near the Mountain View Corridor. It was originally scheduled to open on March 31, 2018, but moved back to April after construction delays. In May 2017, Real Salt Lake and

Zions Bank Zions Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Zions Bancorporation originated as Keystone Insurance and Investment Co., a Utah Corporation, in April 1955. In April 1960, Keystone, together with several in ...

announced a sponsorship deal that would give the bank

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of ...

to the stadium.

Facilities

Zions Bank Stadium is a 5,000-seat stadium at the center of the Zions Bank Real Academy, a sports campus in

. The pitch measures , the same dimensions as

Rio Tinto Stadium America First Field (formerly Rio Tinto Stadium and referred to as The RioT) is an American soccer-specific stadium in Sandy, Utah, that serves as home stadium for Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. The stadium opened on October 9, 2008, ...

(the home of

), and uses a Greenfields MX artificial surface. The east side includes a

press box The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box and can be either enclosed or open to the e ...

, owners suite, and hospitality spaces on the east side of the pitch. The stadium's roof has of

solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...

s that provide 166 kW of electricity.

History

Real Salt Lake chose Herriman as the site of the stadium and academy in early 2016. The club had previously considered options in the West Valley City area and planned an 8,000-seat stadium at the Utah State Fairpark until negotiations in the state government fell apart. Construction began in August 2016 and the academy's

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

opened in August 2017. The charter school, built to serve players and residents of nearby areas, focuses on a

STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

curriculum and includes an on-site dormitory. Real Salt Lake and Real Monarchs began using the indoor training facilities in January 2018, replacing preseason camps held in California and Arizona. Due to the stadium's proximity to the academy's charter school, away, it was unable to obtain a liquor license and was not initially able to serve alcoholic beverages. Under state laws, the license cannot be issued to businesses whose entrance is within of a school. In response, Real Salt Lake relocated the entrance to the northwest corner, at a cost of $250,000, and received a license from the state liquor commission. The stadium also features a 166-

kilowatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

array of

s on its roof. The first sporting event at the stadium, a Utah Warriors match against the

Prairie Wolf Pack The Prairie Wolf Pack is a Canadian rugby union team representing the Prairies region in the Canadian Rugby Championship. The Wolf Pack's inaugural season includes a home game at the Calgary Rugby Park against The Rock and away games at the BC ...

, took place on April 20 and was attended by 3,143 people. Real Monarchs played their first home match on April 30, a scoreless draw against

Las Vegas Lights FC Las Vegas Lights FC is an American professional soccer team based in Las Vegas, Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho ...

that was attended by 4,065 spectators.

Other events

Soccer

In June and July 2020, Zions Bank Stadium and Rio Tinto Stadium hosted the

2020 NWSL Challenge Cup The 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup was a tournament during the 2020 National Women's Soccer League season to mark the league's return to action from the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first professional team sports event to return to play in United States ...

, a special competition to begin the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federati ...

's 2020 season after it was delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Zions Bank Stadium hosted the competition's early rounds, with play moving to Rio Tinto Stadium for the semifinals and final.

Lacrosse

The 2020 season of the

Premier Lacrosse League Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is an American professional field lacrosse league, composed of 8 teams. The league's inaugural season debuted on June 1, 2019, and included a 14-week tour-based schedule taking place in 12 major-market cities. The le ...

was moved to Zions Bank Stadium, with the Championship Series played in July and August. The teams and support staff were housed at the Real Salt Lake Training Academy under quarantine.

References

{{National Women's Soccer League stadiums Major League Rugby stadiums Utah Warriors Soccer venues in Utah Rugby union stadiums in Salt Lake City Sports venues in Utah USL Championship stadiums Sports venues completed in 2018 2018 establishments in Utah Premier Lacrosse League venues Lacrosse venues in the United States