MLS FC Dallas

FC Dallas To Host Club Atlas at Pizza Hut Park

Published on March 6, 2006 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Dallas News Release


DALLAS (Monday, March 6, 2006) - FC Dallas President and General Manager Michael Hitchcock announce today that the club will host Mexican First Division side Club Atlas in a preseason friendly at Pizza Hut Park on Wednesday, March 22. This match, which will kick off at 7:30 p.m., will be the Hoops last preseason match in the state of Texas and their next-to-last match prior to the regular season opener on April 1.

FC Dallas last faced Atlas on November 3, 2000 when the two sides played a friendly in Guadalajara shortly after the conclusion of the MLS season, a match which Dallas won 2-0. Locally, this will be the first time since March 24, 2001 that Dallas hosts a preseason friendly against a team for the Mexican First Division. On that date, Chivas de Guadalajara was the visitor and the two sides played to a 2-2 draw at the Cotton Bowl.

"This match against Atlas will be an extremely important preparation match for our home opener on April 1 and the start of the 2006 MLS Season," Hitchcock said. "It's important for our team to see how we stack up against a strong Mexican Club team who is in midseason form, plus it's a chance for FC Dallas fans to preview their team and Atlas fans to see their club play at our world class stadium, Pizza Hut Park. We look forward to a fun and festive atmosphere in a preseason game that means a lot to FC Dallas."

Atlas currently sits in fourth place in the 2006 Clausura Group 3 standings and in a five-way tie for seventh place overall with 11 points from its first eight matches. The Guadalajara-based club is looking to return to the Mexican playoffs for the first time since the 1950-51 season and to the finals for the first time since the Verano (now Apertura) in 1999. This year Atlas is led by Argentine forward Emanuel Villa, midfielder Rafael "Chiquis" Garcia and Daniel Osorno of the Mexican National Team. Osorno's current Mexican National Team teammates Jared Borgetti, Rafael Marquez, Pavel Pardo and Osvaldo Sanchez all began their careers with Atlas.

Tickets for this special match start at just $10 beginning today and are available through FC Dallas and TicketMaster. Current FC Dallas season ticket holders can use their ticket marked Bonus Game A for this game while fans wishing to purchase tickets can call 888-FCD-GOAL or visit www.fcdallas.net for more information.

FC Dallas, a charter member club of Major League Soccer, began play at Pizza Hut Park, a new 20,500 seat soccer specific stadium, on August 6, 2005. The 145-acre facility is located at the intersection of Main Street and Dallas North Tollway in Frisco. Pizza Hut Park will accommodate Major League Soccer matches, major concerts, international soccer matches and High School football. Adjacent to the stadium are 17 regulation-sized, tournament-grade soccer fields which will be utilized on a year-round basis. On November 13, 2005 Pizza Hut Park hosted Major League Soccer's championship match, MLS Cup 2005 live on ABC Sports. The event saw a then-record crowd of more than 21,000 fans in attendance and was broadcast in more than 130 countries worldwide. For more information, log on to www.fcdallas.net.

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