Real Salt Lake Announces A Return To Full Capacity At Rio Tinto Stadium
Jun 3, 2021, 5:13 PM | Updated: Dec 8, 2022, 12:09 pm
(Photo by Laura Dearden/Real Salt Lake)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Real Salt Lake has announced that Rio Tinto Stadium will return to full capacity on June 18th when RSL hosts Vancouver Whitecaps.
Rio Tinto Stadium has a capacity of 20, 213.
“We are excited to welcome as many fans as we can safely have in our stadium to bring the electric atmosphere that has made Rio Tinto Stadium among the best in Major League Soccer,” RSL Interim President John Kimball said. “The health and well-being of our fans, players and staff remain the top priority. We are continuing to follow the safety protocols of Major League Soccer and the Utah Health Department and are working closely with both to ensure a safe and healthy environment for everyone who comes to our stadium to enjoy a match.”
RSL began its season with a maximum capacity of 10,000 fans. Last year, the MLS club was one of only a few teams within the league to allow fans into home games. In 2020, they capped attendance at 5,000.
Touchdown in SLC 📍
Let's do this thing. pic.twitter.com/rQUI0RBY9W
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) June 3, 2021
The club has been capping attendance numbers since July 11th when its reserves, Real Monarchs, hosted 5,300 fans on July 11, 2020, becoming the first sporting event in North America to host fans since March 11, 2020.
The recent news follows in the footsteps of the Salt Lake Bees who recently announced that Smith’s Ballpark will return to full capacity on Thursday, May 27. The Minor League Baseball club’s home stadium has a capacity of 14, 511. Rio Tinto Stadium and Smith’s Ballpark both reside in Salt Lake County.
Furthermore, RSL announced on May 11th that the mask mandate will no longer be in effect for those attending home games. However, fans who wish to wear a mask may do so and may also request to be seated amongst mask-wearing patrons only.