The funding plan was revised, but was struck down later in 2006 over disagreements in the appropriation of millions of hotel-tax dollars for a financially unproven sports franchise.

The proposal for Sandy was declared "dead" by Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts at that point, putting the team's future in doubt.

Other stadium sites in the area were also proposed, including the Utah State Fairgrounds in Salt Lake City, and the tiny town of Vineyard, just west of Provo.

Finally, on the very day Checketts had set as a deadline to have a stadium plan in place or decide to sell the team, and after months of up and down discussions with local municipalities, county, and state officials and a change in the funding structure, a tacit agreement between Checketts, Sandy City, and Salt Lake County was put in place, and Real Salt Lake announced that they would move forward with the construction of Real Salt Lake Stadium,[9] which would ultimately be named Rio Tinto Stadium.

The move prompted the club to make a new proposal to the Utah State Senate on February 2, 2006, in which 15% of the hotel taxes collected in Salt Lake County between July 2007 and 2017, equaling about US$2 million a year, would be diverted to the project.

[17] The stadium opened on October 9, 2008, in a Major League Soccer match between Real Salt Lake and the New York Red Bulls.

A few weeks later, the stadium also played host to the first playoff game in RSL history against Chivas USA, in which the home side ended up winning 1–0 in front of another sellout crowd.

Throughout 2010 and 2011, the stadium became one of the toughest venues to play at in Major League Soccer, with Real Salt Lake having an undefeated streak of 34 games at home.

At the time, it was the longest undefeated streak achieved by any team in MLS history; the record has since been broken by the Houston Dynamo, who won their 35th home game on April 14, 2013.

The Mexican side ended up winning the game 1–0, and thanks to a 2–2 draw back in Mexico during the first leg, Monterrey were declared the champions on aggregate score.

[21] Since the stadium opened its doors, it has become a very popular place for the United States men's national soccer team to play matches against regional opponents.

The first match held by the team at the stadium took place on September 9, 2009, against El Salvador, in a fourth-round qualifier for the 2010 FIFA World Cup; the game ended in a 2–1 victory for the home side in front of 19,000 spectators.

[25] On June 9, 2021, the USMNT defeated Costa Rica 4–0 in front of 19,007 fans at America First Field, in a friendly match played following the CONCACAF Nations League.

Since 2011, the stadium has played host to the XFINITY High School Football Challenge, a series of games that pits local teams Alta and Jordan against opponents from across the country.

In May 2014, the Varsity Cup Collegiate Rugby National Championship final match saw BYU defeat UC-Berkeley 43–33 in front of 10,172 fans.

[33] Utah Warriors played an exhibition game against Glendale Raptors at America First Field on March 30, 2018, ahead of their inaugural Major League Rugby season in front of 9,186 fans.

The stadium is also accessible by light rail via the Blue Line of UTA TRAX; the nearest station is Sandy Expo on 9400 South.