Dallas, Tex. - FC Dallas President and General Manager Greg Elliott announced today the pregame plans at Pizza Hut Park prior to the Stadium Dedication Game this Saturday.
The pregame festivities will be in two parts with the first part of the ceremony involving the four entities that funded the Pizza Hut Park project. A facility built by both private and public funds, Pizza Hut Park was made possible by an innovative public and private partnership between the Hunt Sports Group, the City of Frisco and its Economic and Community Development Corporations, as well as Collin County and the Frisco Independent School District. This unique partnership broke ground on Pizza Hut Park on February 18, 2004.
The second part of the ceremony will honor the "Special XI" groups that helped in growing soccer in the North Texas area which, in turn, brought the opening of the facility to a reality. The 11 groups represented are coaches, local and national administrators, players, media, partners, sponsors, volunteers, fans, staff, ownership and referees. The individuals announced on the field prior to the match will be representatives for each of these 11 groups.
Following the ceremony, 11-year old Courtney Nowell will sing the National Anthem with 30 FC Texas youth players holding a 42 x 42-foot FC Dallas jersey at the center circle. Upon the conclusion of the National Anthem, Lieutenant Commander Jon "Recon" Mostyn and Lieutenant Jerimy "Skid" Markin will be providing a flyover of Pizza Hut Park in two T-45 "Goshawk" aircrafts. Both pilots are Persian Gulf War veterans that fly many missions off of aircraft carriers' USS Lincoln and the USS Stennis. The aircraft they will be flying each goes a maximum speed of 1.04 mach and can a maximum altitude of 41,000 feet.
On another note, the first 7,500 fans in attendance on Saturday will receive a commemorative hard hat from FC Dallas. The red hard hat will contain the Pizza Hut Park logo on the front, the FC Dallas logo on the back, the saying, "Pardon Our Dust" on one side, and "Inaugural Match August 6, 2005" on the other side.
