FC Dallas closing in on stadium naming rights partner

Major League Soccer (MLS) team FC Dallas close to striking a naming rights deal for its home stadium, according to Dan Hunt, vice-president of the club’s parent company, Hunt Sports Group.

The 20,500-seat stadium and adjoining 17 practice fields was known as Pizza Hut Park from its opening in 2005 until the pizza chain opted to end its sponsorship deal in January 2012. The stadium has been left without a naming rights partner ever since.

“We’re working on three (potential sponsors) right now for this season,” Hunt told the MLSsoccer.com website. It would be a partial deal for this season and a full deal next season. If I do my job, I hopefully will get one of them to put their name on the stadium and complex and get the others to support the team through another sponsorship.”

Hunt did not refer to any potential suitors by name, but did say the city of Frisco had been instrumental in helping identify potential partnerships.

He said: “One’s an international company who has a very big presence in the Texas market, one has subsidiaries headquartered here and offices on the East Coast and one is headquartered here.”