FRISCO, Texas - FC Dallas today announced that Fox Soccer Channel has become a Presenting Sponsor of the inaugural Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup, which will match the two Major League Soccer teams owned by Hunt Sports, FC Dallas versus the Columbus Crew, in a charity game on March 11 from Pizza Hut Park. FSC has acquired the exclusive telecast rights to the game and will broadcast the game live from Frisco, Texas at 5:00 p.m. CT. As part of the agreement, the Pioneer Cup will also air in Spanish on sister network Fox Sports en Español, the largest Spanish-language all-sports cable network in the U.S., as well as on Fox Sports Latin America and Fox Sports Middle East/Africa.
Contributions may be made through a variety of means, including by naming your price for tickets to the Pioneer Cup as well as in exchange for sponsorship and marketing opportunities. Tickets for the game are available for a minimum contribution of $5 for endline seats or $10 for sideline seats and can be purchased through any Ticketmaster outlet, through www.fcdallas.net, or by calling the front office at 888-323-4625. Ticketmaster is donating its fees from this game to the cause. Parking for this event will be free at Pizza Hut Park. Individuals or organizations that cannot attend may also contribute through the online form or calling the office.
The Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup was created in honor of the late Lamar Hunt, the operator and investor of both FC Dallas and the Columbus Crew who passed away in December 2006 after a battle with cancer. The Pionner Cup will serve as a fundraiser for each team's charitable foundations, with all net proceeds from the first edition of the Pioneer Cup being presented to Dallas SCORES, a youth development program that uses a combination of soccer, creative writing and service-learning for students in a safe, constructive learning environment after school five days a week. Students that agree to make an equal commitment to creative writing workshops will participate in a soccer league, which will be re-named the Pioneer Soccer League in honor of Lamar Hunt. The Cup will be played in Columbus next year to benefit an organization of their choice.
Sponsorship packages can include: a suite for 20; tickets to donate to a Dallas SCORES school; in-game elements including program insert, field board, public address announcement and video board recognition; website recognition; right to distribute flyers, trophy presentation and special Pioneer Cup gift. For these and other sponsorship opportunities, please call Matt McInnis 214.705.6777.
