Limited fans, spaced seating: MLS returns to Rio Tinto Stadium

(KUTV) — Real Salt Lake will host its first home game in more than five months at Rio Tinto Stadium on Wednesday, but things will look a lot different.

There will be only around 5,000 seats filled in the 20,000-seat stadium, and your e-ticket will dictate when and where you will enter the stadium.

Wednesday’s game will mark the first Major League Soccer game at Rio Tinto Stadium since March 7. Craig Martin, General Manager and VP of facility operations, broke down what fans can expect in a video shared online.

“Forget everything you knew about coming to a game here," Martin says. "The logistics of coming to a game have changed drastically.”

One example: A fan's seat section will now determine where they park, enter the stadium, and use the restroom.

Wednesday night, there will be no tailgating, and entrance into the stadium will be timed based on your seat location. Once inside, your seats will be at least six feet from the next group of fans.

“It’s a massive day tomorrow. Luckily, we’ve had the staff to really be able to test what’s going to happen," saidTaran Meyer, senior manager of communications for RSL.

Meyer says hosting Real Monarchs games this summer helped the stadium prepare.

We were the first team sports in America since everything shut down in March, and it went very well, and we’re excited to welcome people back.”

Temperature checks and health screenings will be a condition for coming into the stadium, and masks are to be worn at all times unless eating in your seat.

There are still some tickets left, but again, only about a quarter of the seats will be filled.