About FC Dallas

FC Dallas, a charter member club of Major League Soccer, will open its 13th season of play on March 30, 2008 at home to Chivas USA. The club was formed on June 6, 1995 and played its first game on April 14, 1996, defeating the San Jose Clash in front of 27,779 fans at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

Owned by the Hunt Sports Group, FC Dallas is the third winningest team in MLS history and the winner of the 1997 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Between 1996 and 2006, the team compiled a regular season record of 148-150-40 and qualified for the postseason on nine occasions, including each of the last two seasons. In 2006, the Hoops (fans and media have come to nickname the team the "Hoops", for the red and white horizontal stripes on the club's home uniform appear to 'hoop' around the jersey) recorded the highest point total in franchise history, going 16-12-4 for 52 points and earning the top seed in the Western Conference Playoffs for the first time ever.

The 2006 season also saw FC Dallas form exclusive partnerships with Mexican First Division club Tigres de la Universidad Autonoma de Nueva Leon (UANL) and Clube Athletico Paranaense of Brazil's Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A. These partnerships will help provide FC Dallas with an avenue to help develop philosophies, practices and training methods both on and off the field.

Additionally, these partnerships will see FCD play an annual home-and-away series against each club. In 2006, FC Dallas won the inaugural Rio Grande Plate against Tigres while 2007 will see the birth of a yet-to-be named competition between the Hoops and Paranaense.

Originally named Dallas Burn (1996-2004), the team changed its named to FC Dallas after the conclusion of the 2004 season. As part of the club's rebranding, new uniforms, and a new logo were unveiled along with the name change. The logo features the name FC Dallas and the number 96, signifying the year that the club played its inaugural game, above a drawing of a bull, signifying the kind of Texas cattle that were driven along North Texas trails throughout the 19th century. The logo features the club's new colors red, white and blue, (all of which can be found in the American flag and the state flag of Texas), and a hint of silver.

After playing all of the team's home games at either the Cotton Bowl in Dallas or Dragon Stadium in Southlake, Texas for the first nine and a half seasons of its existence, FC Dallas moved to its new home, Pizza Hut Park, the third soccer-specific stadium in Major League Soccer, on August 6, 2005.

About Pizza Hut Park: Opened on August 6, 2005, Pizza Hut Park is a 145-acre multipurpose sports and entertainment facility located at the intersection of Main Street and Dallas North Tollway in Frisco, Texas, and is the home stadium for FC Dallas of Major League Soccer. The stadium, which has a permanent stage on the north end situated off the playing surface, has a capacity of 20,500 fans for sporting events but can expand to accommodate over 27,000 fans for concerts by utilizing field seats. The complex also includes 17 tournament-grade fields used for youth and adult soccer, as well as high school sports and other events. The $105 million public-private complex is owned by the City of Frisco in partnership with the Hunt Sports Group (HSG), the Frisco Independent School District, and Collin County. In February 2006, it was recognized by the Dallas Business Journal as the winner of the Best Community Impact Award for 2005, given to a property that was judged to have created the most positive economic and social impact on a community. In November 2006, Pizza Hut Park became the first professional sports stadium in Texas to be designated as "Green" and administer a formal recycling program.

Record Attendance at Pizza Hut Park for a Soccer Event – 22,427 MLS Cup 2006; Nov. 12, 2006

Record Attendance at Pizza Hut Park for a non-Soccer Event – 27,337 George Strait with Tracy Lawrence and Miranda Lambert; May 26, 2006