Wasatch Soccer Sentinel

Back in November 2017, Dell Loy Hansen and the NWSL made the announcement that women’s professional soccer was coming to Utah. At that press conference, Hansen hyped this new team as it entered the league, officially replacing an FC Kansas City team that recently folded.

We listened as Hansen said the women’s team would receive equal treatment — better than the men’s team, in fact. Sure enough, Hansen delivered, unveiling a locker room that wowed many, including this writer who might have cried at her desk when she watched the stream of the event. Oh, and they also got apartments to live in and fancy Ford SUVs. And can’t forget about those epic robes.

Hansen also said that the they were going to fill every seat at Rio Tinto Stadium for the home opener.

And guess what? He meant it.

First, we heard 7,000 tickets sold. Then, 8,000. Then, 13,000. Then how that number was nearing 15,000. And yesterday, I had a chance to confirm with the club the official number and whether what I was hearing/reading about a sold out stadium was true.

Yes.

Saturday’s home opener against the Chicago Red Stars at Rio Tinto Stadium has sold 18,000 tickets. Seats had to be made unavailable for the concert stage for the post-game Rachel Platten concert, but The RioT is officially sold out. Standing room tickets were then made available, but those, too, sold out on Thursday. If anyone wants to go to the game, the best available seats are in club seating or watching it on Lifetime.

There was some disappointment that Saturday’s home opener will not break the current NWSL record of 23,403 set by the Orlando Pride at their inaugural home opener on April 2016. That would have already been impossible due to Rio Tinto’s seating capacity of 20,213. Camping World Stadium, which the Pride used in 2016, has a 25,500 seating capacity.