A voter referendum to overturn a public funding package for the Real Salt Lake soccer stadium failed by 79,653 signatures.
Of the 91,966 signatures needed, only 12,343 were certified. In addition, only one county — Daggett County — submitted enough petitions to meet one of the state requirements.
"Obviously, we're disappointed," said Gary Forbush, a member of the grass-roots group Get Real Utah. "It made me feel like the state was really asking the impossible."
Forbush believes his group's failed referendum drive signals the need for reform of the state process. He said that most states require fewer signatures and allow a longer time-frame to collect them.
Get Real Utah formed shortly after the Legislature in February approved a $35 million funding deal for land and infrastructure at the stadium site in Sandy. The group had a little more than 30 days to collect nearly 92,000 signatures of 10 percent of voters who participated in the last gubernatorial election from at least 15 of Utah's 29 counties.
Daggett, the least-populated county in the state, was the only county that hit that threshold. From Salt Lake County, 10,848 signatures were certified.
Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert said Monday that the petition signatures were insufficient.
Many Utahns were surprised to watch the Legislature step up to Real's aid days after Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon shot down a public-funding deal for a third time in nearly a year. Corroon had deemed the stadium a risky investment. But state leaders supported the bill, forcing Salt Lake County's cut of hotel-tax dollars to be used for land and infrastructure at the site in Sandy.
Real began construction on April 9 for a $110 million soccer stadium on the northwest corner of 9400 South and State Street. The team hopes to finish the stadium by August 2008.
Real owner Dave Checketts said in a statement Monday that the team was pleased that the petition process had concluded.
"This is just another hurdle that we have been able to clear, despite all of the misinformation that has been provided to the public," he said. "Now that this political process has come to a conclusion, we hope we can all put the past behind us and focus on a common goal of making this project a world-class venue that will reflect well on our entire state.
"Our shovels are in the dirt, and we are full speed ahead," he added.
Sandy has committed $10 million in redevelopment agency funds to the project. The city is moving ahead with an interlocal and development agreement with the team, both needed before the team can get any sort of public funding.
Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan said he thought the petition for a referendum had been "quixotic" and its failure reflected how little Utahns were interested in the matter.
"I thought it was kind of off-the-wall from the beginning," he said.
But Forbush's group said in a statement that they believe the state requirements for a referendum petition are "onerous and excessive." The group plans to ask Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and legislators to study the issue.
Forbush said he was surprised at the low number of signatures turned in and said he thinks Get Real Utah lacked the strong volunteer base that an anti-voucher group had. A voter referendum challenging a new school voucher law qualified for a ballot spot on Monday. The group pushing the voucher referendum had the support of the PTA, the Utah Education Association and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
That meant the anti-voucher group had an existing membership, structure and funding mechanism that allowed them to organize and move forward quickly, Forbush's group said.
The voucher vote will mark the first time in 33 years a referendum petition has been successful. In 1974, a referendum vote overturned a land-use bill.
But Forbush's group believes the state requirements should be changed so that "everyday citizens," not just organizations and lobbyists, can have a way to question legislative decisions through a referendum.
"You shouldn't have to have thousands of volunteers and a million dollars to get it done," Forbush said.
E-MAIL: astowell@desnews.com