SANDY, UTAH (Tuesday, January 16, 2018) – Real Salt Lake Owner Dell Loy Hansen has announced that Captain and MF Kyle Beckerman has re-signed with the club that he has called home since 2007, keeping Major League Soccer’s all-time “Iron Man” with the Claret-and-Cobalt for a 12th season. The nine-time MLS All-Star and four-time club Most Valuable Player is the league’s career leader in MLS regular-season games played (432), games started (403) and minutes played (36,020) among field players.
“This is home. It’s where we wanted to be,” Beckerman said about his decision to re-sign. “What we built in the second half of the season was so exciting to be a part of. To be able to be here for a couple more years and build with these young guys – they are going to be another year older and a little bit more experienced – there is a lot of upside for this team. To be here and be a part of it is exciting.”
Beckerman has been a pivotal figure in Real Salt Lake’s rise to perennial MLS Cup Playoff contender following his arrival in 2007. Since then, RSL has reached the postseason in eight of the last 10 seasons, including lifting MLS Cup in 2009 with Beckerman as the Captain. In his 11 seasons with the club, he has 284 appearances, 279 starts, 29 goals and 33 assists in MLS regular-season action. Across all competitions, including CONCACAF Champions League and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and postseason games, the Crofton, Maryland native has 338 appearances, 329 starts, 33 goals and 37 assists for the club.
In 2017, Beckerman started 26 matches and scored four goals – the most he’s scored since 2013 – including a pivotal stoppage-time equalizer on the road against the LA Galaxy on September 30 that kept RSL’s playoff hopes alive, although ultimately the club fell one point short of a postseason berth.
“I cannot imagine an RSL team next year without Kyle here. Without Kyle with the armband on. Without Kyle leading the charge,” Real Salt Lake Head Coach Mike Petke said. “I think that he is iconic here in Salt Lake, and that he is one of the best players in the history of this league. And I think he deserves and will earn anything that he gets. There will be a statue here of Kyle one day. It’s a no-brainer that Kyle is back; we couldn’t do this without him.”
During his tenure as captain, RSL won MLS Cup in 2009 and reached finals in the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League, 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and 2013 MLS Cup.
In addition to his success on the club level, he also has 58 caps for the U.S. National Team, including appearances in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2009, 2013 and 2015 and the Copa America tournament in 2007 and 2016, winning the Gold Cup title in 2013.
“Kyle is a player that leads by example and is vocal. He does his job and inspires people around him with his performance,” RSL General Manager Craig Waibel said. “Along with a few other guys, he has defined our organization for quite some time. He also defines and embodies the movement of where we are going. He has embraced this evolution and he’s excited about the moments to come and the moments to share with fans. All that added up makes it a really special thing for us to be able to re-sign him.”
The 35-year-old midfielder from Crofton, Maryland, came to Real Salt Lake in a midseason trade with the Colorado Rapids in 2007. He started his MLS career with the Miami Fusion in 2000, playing two seasons in Florida before the team was contracted. Beckerman subsequently played with the Rapids from 2002-2007 - including multiple years as a teammate of then-Colorado DF Petke - before landing with RSL, immediately changing the club’s competitive culture for the better.
RSL’s March 10 home opener against expansion side LAFC kicks off an early-season run with three of its first five games at its Rio Tinto Stadium home, where the Utah-based side has enjoyed a prominent home-field advantage since permanently moving in Sandy, boasting a dominant 105-26-44 mark in the world-class venue since opening in October, 2008.
2018 TICKETS: All 2018 packages, which start at just $280 for lower bowl seating, allow extraordinary access to RSL at Rio Tinto Stadium. All 17-game packages include every RSL regular-season game and additional events, which historically have included CONCACAF Champions League participation and/or Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup contests.
The 2018 RSL season – which starts on March 3 at Dallas and ends in late October – boasts a Saturday-heavy home slate, with ZERO Sunday home games – and includes an RSL bye in the 23-team league on the Sun., Oct. 28 MLS “Decision Day” finales – and just two non-holiday midweek home contests (Wed., May 30 v. Houston, and Thurs., Oct. 18 v. New England).
As previously announced, Real Salt Lake opens Rio Tinto Stadium against Western Conference expansion side Los Angeles FC (“LAFC”) at 1:30 p.m. MT on Saturday, March 10. Visit www.RSL.com or call 844.Real.Tix now to access 2018 Season Tickets and Flex Vouchers. Individual seats for the March 10 opener, starting at $25 and up depending on location, in the heavily-anticipated kickoff go on sale this Monday, Jan. 8, along with 2018 RSL “mini-packs.” The remainder of the 2018 RSL slate will be available on an individual basis starting in February.
For more information about the venue’s numerous premium seating options – Toyota 100 Lions Club, suites, Audi Executive Club options, field-level or ledge boxes, the Zions Bank Club Seats and more – please call 801.727.2700 and ask for Kathy, Adri or Renee. 2018 season tickets, customized mini-packs or individual tickets for the March 10 home opener against expansion side LAFC can also be ordered the RSL website: www.RSL.com/tickets.
The Rio Tinto Stadium box office is open Mon.-Fri., 10a-6p; more information can be found online at www.RSL.com/Tickets or via the Fan Relations Hotline at 801-727-2702.
PRESEASON 2018: Petke and Real Salt Lake kick off the club’s state-of-the-art, world-class training existence one week from today on Monday, January 22 in Herriman, Utah, at the Zions Bank Real Academy, in advance of preseason trips to warmer climes on Jan. 31 (Tucson) and Feb. 11 (Orlando). Detailed preseason rosters, schedules and details will be released in the near future. For up-to-the-second information on all things Real Salt Lake, please visit the team’s official web site at www.RSL.com or join the conversation and interact with fans on any of the team’s social platforms.
