Pizza Hut Park
Encyclopedia
Pizza Hut Park is a soccer-specific stadium
with a 21,193-seat capacity, built and owned by the city of Frisco
, Texas
. Its primary tenant is Major League Soccer
(MLS) team FC Dallas
, which relocated from the Cotton Bowl
in central Dallas to the fast-growing suburb. The naming rights
to the facility were acquired by the large pizza chain Pizza Hut
whose corporate headquarters are in Addison, Texas
(a northern Dallas suburb).
was 20,500 in a U-shaped design with one end of the stadium having a permanent stage for hosting concerts. Like many of the soccer-specific stadium
s being built around the country, it is expected that the stadium will make a significant amount of revenue by hosting mid-sized concerts, as well as various other sporting events, such as high-school football
games. The stadium includes 18 luxury suites as well as a private 6000 square feet (557.4 m²) stadium club.
The stadium played host to the 2005 MLS Cup
final, seeing the Los Angeles Galaxy
defeat the New England Revolution
1–0 in overtime for their second MLS Cup
. It was also selected to host the 2006 MLS Cup
, which ended 1–1 after extra time with the Houston Dynamo
defeating the New England Revolution
4–3 on penalty kick
s.
The complex also has an additional 17 regulation size, stadium-quality soccer fields (both grass and artificial turf) outside the main stadium. These fields are for practice by FC Dallas, matches for the FC Dallas reserve squad, and for hosting youth soccer tournaments. Youth tournaments that have made use of the complex include Dallas Cup
, Olympic Development Program National Championships, and the USYSA National Championships
.
Nicknames for Pizza Hut Park are PHP, the Hut, and The Oven, the latter referring to Texas' summer climate during afternoon games (and also because the field is well below ground level).
Soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Korea coined by Lamar Hunt, to refer to a sports stadium either purpose built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multipurpose...
with a 21,193-seat capacity, built and owned by the city of Frisco
Frisco, Texas
Frisco is an affluent city in Collin and Denton Counties in the U.S. state of Texas and a rapidly growing suburb of Dallas. As of the 2010 Census, 116,989 people were living in Frisco up from 33,714 in the previous census. Frisco was the fastest growing city in the United States in 2009, and also...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Its primary tenant is Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
(MLS) team FC Dallas
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
, which relocated from the Cotton Bowl
Cotton Bowl (stadium)
The Cotton Bowl is a stadium which opened in 1929 and became known as "The House That Doak Built" due to the immense crowds that former SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s. Originally known as Fair Park Stadium, it is located in Fair Park,...
in central Dallas to the fast-growing suburb. The naming rights
Naming rights
In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...
to the facility were acquired by the large pizza chain Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....
whose corporate headquarters are in Addison, Texas
Addison, Texas
Addison is a city in Dallas County, Texas . The population was 14,166 at the 2000 census, and 15,737 according to a 2009 estimate. Addison is a northern suburb of Dallas...
(a northern Dallas suburb).
History
The stadium, which cost approximately $80 million, opened on August 6, 2005 with a match between FC Dallas and the MetroStars, which ended in a 2–2 draw. When first designed, the stadium's original seating capacitySeating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
was 20,500 in a U-shaped design with one end of the stadium having a permanent stage for hosting concerts. Like many of the soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Korea coined by Lamar Hunt, to refer to a sports stadium either purpose built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multipurpose...
s being built around the country, it is expected that the stadium will make a significant amount of revenue by hosting mid-sized concerts, as well as various other sporting events, such as high-school football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
games. The stadium includes 18 luxury suites as well as a private 6000 square feet (557.4 m²) stadium club.
The stadium played host to the 2005 MLS Cup
MLS Cup 2005
The 2005 MLS Cup was the championship game of the 2005 Major League Soccer season. It was played on November 13, 2005 at the new soccer-specific stadium, Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. In a rematch of the 2002 final, the Los Angeles Galaxy again beat the New England Revolution 1-0 in overtime,...
final, seeing the Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
defeat the New England Revolution
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional association football club based in Foxborough, Massachusetts which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...
1–0 in overtime for their second MLS Cup
MLS Cup
The MLS Cup is the championship match of Major League Soccer, the highest tier of professional soccer in the United States and Canada. As the final match of the MLS Cup playoffs, the winner is crowned the season champion in the same manner as other North American sports leagues...
. It was also selected to host the 2006 MLS Cup
MLS Cup 2006
The 2006 MLS Cup was the championship game of the 2006 Major League Soccer season, played on November 12, 2006 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas between the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo. Houston won 4-3 on penalty kicks, after a 1-1 draw following extra time...
, which ended 1–1 after extra time with the Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo
The Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club, based in Houston, Texas, that plays in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2005 as Houston 1836, the team name was renamed to Houston Dynamo following protests from Hispanic...
defeating the New England Revolution
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional association football club based in Foxborough, Massachusetts which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...
4–3 on penalty kick
Penalty kick
A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...
s.
The complex also has an additional 17 regulation size, stadium-quality soccer fields (both grass and artificial turf) outside the main stadium. These fields are for practice by FC Dallas, matches for the FC Dallas reserve squad, and for hosting youth soccer tournaments. Youth tournaments that have made use of the complex include Dallas Cup
Dallas Cup
The Dallas Cup is an international football tournament for invited youth teams, held annually in Dallas, Texas. It was first held in 1980. The current champion is Cruzeiro...
, Olympic Development Program National Championships, and the USYSA National Championships
United States Youth Soccer Association
The United States Youth Soccer Association is the youth affiliate and largest member of U.S. Soccer, the governing body for soccer in the United States. US Youth Soccer includes 55 state youth soccer associations, one per state except for California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas, which...
.
Nicknames for Pizza Hut Park are PHP, the Hut, and The Oven, the latter referring to Texas' summer climate during afternoon games (and also because the field is well below ground level).
Notable events
- Starting in 2008, Pizza Hut Park became the new venue for Christian radio station 94.9FM KLTYKLTYKLTY is a Christian contemporary music radio station owned by Salem Communications with studios located in Irving, Texas, near Dallas. The format is similar to the "Fish" branded stations Salem owns elsewhere and its slogan is: "Safe for the Whole Family"...
's Celebrate Freedom (Presented By The Luis PalauLuis PalauLuis Palau, Jr. is an international Christian evangelist living in the Portland area in Oregon, United States. He was born in Argentina and moved to Portland in his mid-twenties to enroll in a graduate program in Biblical studies....
Evangelical Association) which took place on June 27–28, 2008.
- On August 8, 2008, Pizza Hut Park played host to the heavy metalHeavy metal musicHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
/hard rockHard rockHard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
festival tour OzzfestOzzfestOzzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
.
- On December 12 and 14, 2008, Pizza Hut Park hosted the NCAA Men's College Cup. In the semifinals, North CarolinaNorth Carolina Tar HeelsThe North Carolina Tar Heels are the athletic teams for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heel State...
defeated Wake ForestWake Forest Demon DeaconsOriginally, Wake Forest's athletic teams were known as the Fighting Baptists, due to its association with the Baptist Convention...
and MarylandMaryland TerrapinsThe Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 27 men's and women's athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition...
defeated St. John'sSt. John's Red StormThe St. John's Red Storm is the nickname used for the 16 varsity athletic programs of St. John's University. St. John's 16 NCAA Division I teams compete in the Big East Conference, with the exception of the fencing and lacrosse teams, which compete in the ECAC...
.Maryland defeated North Carolina 1-0 in the NCAA division I championship on December 14, 2008.
- On August 5, 2010, Pizza Hut Park played host to Inter Milan who won the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League Final. The game drew a single-game attendance record for the park with 21,193 spectators. The game ended in a 2 - 2 tie.
- On February 26, 2010, it was announced that Pizza Hut Park in Frisco would become the new host of the NCAA Division I Football Championship, the title game of college footballCollege footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
's Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA), for the 2010 through 2012 seasons. The game had been played for the previous 13 seasons in Chattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
. The first matchup, hosted by the Southland Conference, was played on January 7, 2011.. This match-up paired the University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens against the Eastern Washington University Eagles. Vice President (and former Delaware Senator) Joe Biden was in attendance as his alma mater surrended a 19-point lead late in the 3rd quarter en route to a 20-19 loss.
- On March 19, 2011, FC Dallas opened the 2011 season against the Chicago Fire with a 1 - 1 tie. The game was the team's first ever regular season sellout (20,145 spectators).
- The May 1, 2011, FC Dallas game against the Los Angeles GalaxyLos Angeles GalaxyThe Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
broke the record for largest single-game attendance originally set the previous year against Inter Milan. The game drew a record 21,867 fans, but most left due to a one hour rain delay in the 83rd minute. FC Dallas won the game 2 - 1 thanks to a Brek SheaBrek SheaDane Brekken "Brek" Shea is a footballer who currently plays midfielder for FC Dallas in Major League Soccer and the U.S. national team...
goal after the one hour delay.
Dr. Pink Field
North of the main stadium is Dr. Pink Field, a mini-stadium named for Frisco ISD high school football and soccer. The field was named after former Frisco doctor Dr. Erwin G. Pink.See also
- FC DallasFC DallasFC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
- Frisco Independent School DistrictFrisco Independent School DistrictFrisco Independent School District is a public school district based in Frisco, Texas .The district covers portions of the cities of Frisco, Little Elm, McKinney, and Plano, as well as unincorporated land in Denton and Collin counties....
- Major League SoccerMajor League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
- Pizza HutPizza HutPizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....