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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Toyota Stadium (Texas)

Toyota Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium located in Frisco, a suburb of Dallas, Texas, United States. Built and owned by the city of Frisco, the 20,500-seat stadium opened in 2005. Its primary tenants are Major League Soccer club FC Dallas and the Frisco Independent School District, which supported the construction to host their high school football games. It also hosts the annual NCAA Division I Football Championship, the title game of college football's Football Championship Subdivision, and the annual Frisco Bowl. Additionally, it is the home of the National Soccer Hall of Fame, which opened in 2018.

History

Toyota Stadium was the third MLS soccer-specific stadium to be built after Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio (1999) and Dignity Health Sports Park near Los Angeles (2003). It cost approximately $80 million and opened on August 6, 2005, with a match between FC Dallas and the MetroStars, which ended in a 2–2 draw. The stadium seats 20,500 in a U-shaped design with the north end including a permanent covered stage for hosting concerts, similar to SeatGeek Stadium near Chicago, which opened one year after Toyota Stadium. Although it was then hoped the permanent stage would help the stadium increase revenue by hosting mid-sized concerts, the design proved unpopular and other MLS clubs rejected building permanent stages in their new stadiums, leaving the stadium's design looking dated. There is widespread support among club fans for the stage to be removed and replaced with a full stand in a future renovation. The stadium includes 18 luxury suites as well as a private 6,000-square-foot (560 m) stadium club.

The stadium played host to the 2005 MLS Cup final, seeing the LA Galaxy defeat the New England Revolution 1–0 in extra time 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 kicks. In 2016, FC Dallas hosted and won the U.S. Open Cup Final, also against the Revolution.

Complex

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 used for practice by FC Dallas, matches for the FC Dallas reserve squad, and for hosting soccer tournaments. Youth tournaments that have made use of the complex include Dallas Cup, Olympic Development Program National Championships, Generation adidas Cup, USYSA National Championships, and MLS Next Cup.

Stadium name

From 2005 until January 2012, the naming rights to the facility were held by national pizza chain Pizza Hut, which is headquartered in nearby Plano, and the stadium was known as Pizza Hut Park. Nicknames for Pizza Hut Park included 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). On January 7, 2012, the contract linking the pizza franchise with the stadium expired, and the stadium was renamed FC Dallas Stadium.

On September 10, 2013, FC Dallas reached an agreement with Gulf States Toyota Distributors, headquartered in Houston, to rename its home field Toyota Stadium. The 17 practice fields around the stadium would be known as Toyota Soccer Center.

Renovation and expansion

2018 reconstruction

In 2018, Toyota Stadium completed a $55 million renovation of the south end of the stadium. Additions included new field access tunnels, locker rooms, a press conference room, team stores, and a multi-tiered viewing stand that replaced the old bleacher section. This also brought in a European-style roof built over the south end of the stadium.

One of the more notable additions was the National Soccer Hall of Fame, which included the National Soccer Hall of Fame Experience and the 19,350 square-foot National Soccer Hall of Fame Club. This addition made Toyota Stadium the first league sports hall of fame to be built within a stadium.

Even with the renovations, many club supporters wanted roof structures to be built over the west and east stands to provide shade during the brutal Texas summers. However, those projects were postponed until 2024, where the City of Frisco approved a larger renovation project addressing these issues.

2025–2028 plans

Interior renderings of Toyota Stadium redevelopment

On September 17, 2024, the City of Frisco approved a $182 million redevelopment project. Improvements include three new clubs, renovated stadium entrances, the removal of the north-end concert stage for supporter standing areas, the largest LED video board of any soccer-specific stadium in the nation, and architecturally distinctive European-style roof structures covering the east, west, and majority of the north stands that will provide much-needed shade for supporters.

Part of the improvements will also include over 1.2 million square feet of office space, a 200-room upscale hotel, a 200-unit multifamily high-rise building, and 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

The construction will be carried out in phases, with work on the east side of the stadium slated to begin after the FCS Championship game in January 2025 and completed before the start of the 2028 FC Dallas season. The initial phase of development will see stadium capacity drop to about 11,000 seats.

In addition to the renovation project, FC Dallas has signed a lease extension to keep the club in Frisco through 2057.

National Soccer Hall of Fame

In 2015, plans were announced that the stadium would be the new home of the National Soccer Hall of Fame (NSHOF). In addition to the NSHOF museum, the stadium's south end received extensive renovations and the entire project cost $55 million and was completed in 2018. The Hall of Fame has two components – the NSHOF Experience and the NSHOF Club. The Experience houses the museum and serves as the location for the Hall of Fame annual induction ceremony. The Club includes specialty seating for season ticket holders for all FC Dallas home matches, as well as multiple event spaces that function as food and beverage hubs on game days. The NSHOF includes soccer memorabilia, modern technology, and virtual reality exhibits.

Notable events

College football

2015 FCS National Championship football game between North Dakota State and Jacksonville State at Toyota Stadium.

Soccer

Concerts

In August 2008, the stadium hosted the heavy metal/hard rock festival tour Ozzfest. It had regularly hosted concerts by Jimmy Buffett. It was also the site for several editions of Edgefest organized by former Dallas alternative rock station KDGE.

Notable concerts

Date Artist(s) Opening act(s) Tour Tickets sold Revenue Additional notes
April 15, 2007 My Chemical Romance Muse The Black Parade World Tour This concert was part of Edgefest.
April 28, 2007 Jimmy Buffett Bama Breeze Tour
April 26, 2008 The Year of Still Here Tour
April 27, 2008 My Chemical Romance Billy Talent
Drive By
The Black Parade World Tour This concert was part of Edgefest.
August 9, 2008 Metallica 2008 European Vacation Tour This concert was part of Ozzfest.
April 18, 2009 Jimmy Buffett Summerzcool Tour
May 17, 2009 Kenny Chesney Lady Antebellum
Miranda Lambert
Sun City Carnival Tour 25,026 / 25,026 $1,840,494 The concert was originally scheduled on May 2, 2009, but was rescheduled due to heavy rain and lightning.
May 22, 2010 Jimmy Buffett Under the Big Top Tour
September 18, 2010 Kiss Pat Green
Drowning Pool
The Hottest Show on Earth Tour
May 21, 2011 Jimmy Buffett Ilo Ferreira Welcome to Fin Land Tour
April 22, 2012 Garbage Not Your Kind of People World Tour These concerts were part of Edgefest.
The Black Keys Arctic Monkeys El Camino Tour
Evanescence Evanescence Tour
May 4, 2013 Jimmy Buffett Jackson Browne Songs from St. Somewhere Tour
June 21, 2014 Jackson Browne
John Fogerty
Monte Montgomery
This One's For You Tour
May 30, 2015 Huey Lewis & The News Workin' n' Playin' Tour
September 5, 2015 Ed Sheeran Christina Perri
Jamie Lawson
x Tour 30,665 / 30,665 $1,571,889
May 28, 2016 Jimmy Buffett Jerry Jeff Walker I Don't Know Tour
June 10, 2017 Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top was the special guest.
October 20, 2018 Imagine Dragons Evolve World Tour
May 4, 2019 Off the Rails Country Music Fest
May 5, 2019
September 21, 2019 OneRepublic
The Fray
Maelyn Jarmon National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Weekend
October 2, 2021 Willie Nelson National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Weekend

Dr. Pink Field

North of the main stadium is Dr. Pink Field, a mini-stadium named after former Frisco doctor Dr. Erwin G. Pink. The field is used for Frisco ISD high school football and soccer.

Dr. Pink Field formerly hosted games for the Frisco Griffins Rugby Club. The Griffins drew an attendance of a few hundred people per game.

See also

References

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  2. ^ "About Toyota Stadium". F.C. Dallas. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  3. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  4. ^ "Lee Lewis Construction, Inc. – About Us". Leelewis.com. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  5. ^ "National Soccer Hall of Fame". National Soccer Hall of Fame.
  6. ^ Baum, Carter (March 9, 2018). "Generation adidas Cup Returns to Toyota Soccer Center in Frisco on March 23". FC Dallas. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  7. ^ Wilonsky, Robert (December 21, 2011). "Pizza Hut Pulls Its Slice Out of Pizza Hut Park". Dallas Observer. Unfair Park blog. Archived from the original on March 24, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
  8. ^ "FC Dallas announce new naming-rights partner as their home becomes Toyota Stadium". MLSsoccer.com. September 10, 2013. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  9. ^ "FC Dallas announces Toyota as official stadium naming rights partner". September 10, 2013. Archived from the original on September 10, 2013.
  10. ^ Davis, Emily (August 2, 2018). "First Look: FC Dallas opens south end of Toyota Stadium renovations". Community Impact.
  11. ^ Dallas, F. C. "Toyota Stadium to Undergo Multi-Million Dollar Renovation". FC Dallas.
  12. ^ "The National Soccer Hall of Fame is here!". The National Soccer Hall of Fame is here!.
  13. ^ Caplan, Jeff (February 26, 2010). "20 teams to compete for FCS crown". ESPNDallas.com. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  14. ^ "NCAA keeping FCS title game in Frisco through at least 2020". USA Today. Associated Press. January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  15. ^ "FCS Championship Will Stay in Frisco Through 2025 With Option for 2026" (Press release). Southland Conference. January 4, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  16. ^ "Hawai'i Accepts Invite To 2020 New Mexico Bowl". University of Hawai'i at Manoa Athletics. December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
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  24. ^ "Wednesday, April 26th, 1995 – Nashville, TN – Nashville Arena » Jimmy Buffett World". www.buffettworld.com.
  25. ^ "Saturday, April 18th, 2009 – Frisco, TX – Pizza Hut Park » Jimmy Buffett World". www.buffettworld.com.
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  30. ^ "Jimmy Buffett Set List – Frisco, TX – 5/28/16 » Jimmy Buffett World". www.buffettworld.com.
  31. ^ "Jimmy Buffett Set List – Frisco, TX – 6/10/17 » Jimmy Buffett World". www.buffettworld.com.
  32. ^ "Pink Field Dedicated (January, 2006)". Friscoisd.org. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  33. ^ "Official Website of Griffins Rugby". Griffinsrugby.com. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  34. ^ "Frisco conquering Texas DII". Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
Events and tenants
Preceded by Home of
FC Dallas

2005–present
Succeeded by
current
Preceded by Host of the MLS Cup
2005, 2006
Succeeded by
Preceded by Host of the NCAA Division I Football Championship
2010–present
Succeeded by
current
Preceded by Host of the College Cup
2008
Succeeded by