History of FC Dallas Football Club
Dallas plays its home games at their 20,295-capacity (16,215 beginning with the 2016 season due to the United States Soccer Hall of Fame construction in the south end) soccer-specific Toyota Stadium, where they have played since 2005.
In the club's early years, Dallas played their home games in the Cotton Bowl. The team is owned by the Hunt Sports Group led by brothers Clark Hunt and Dan Hunt, who is the team's president. The Hunt family also owns the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and part of the Chicago Bulls. The head coach since 2014 is former FC Dallas player Óscar Pareja.
FC Dallas in 2016 won their first Supporters' Shield. In 2010 they were runners-up in the MLS Cup, losing to the Colorado Rapids. The team has won the U.S. Open Cup on two occasions (in 1997 and again in 2016). The International Federation of Football History & Statistics, in its Club World Ranking for the year ending December 31, 2016, placed FC Dallas as the 190th best club in the world and the 9th best club in CONCACAF.
THE DALLAS BURN ERA: 1996–2004
Dallas was awarded a Major League Soccer franchise on June 6, 1995, the same day as teams were awarded to Kansas City and Colorado. The team was given its name for the burning in the Texan oilfields and the state's hot weather. On October 17, former Mexico international Hugo Sánchez was designated to the team as their first player. Initially not attracting investors, the Burn was financed by the league itself.
On April 14, 1996, the Dallas Burn played their first game, defeating the San Jose Clash in a shootout win in front of a crowd of 27,779 fans at the Cotton Bowl.
Five days later, Jason Kreis scored the team's first goal in a 3–0 home win over the Kansas City Wiz. With a record of 17–15, the Burn finished in second in the Western Conference behind the Los Angeles Galaxy. They lost in the best of three playoff semifinals to the Wiz after three games, the last one being decided by a shootout.
Their first campaign in the U.S. Open Cup ended with a 2–3 home defeat in the semi-finals against D.C. United. In their second season, the Burn again reached the playoffs, where they lost in the conference finals to the Colorado Rapids. Later in 1997, they won their first U.S. Open Cup by defeating the MLS Cup champions, D.C. United.
In 1999, striker Kreis was voted the league's MVP for a season in which he became the first player to reach 15 goals and 15 assists. That season ended in the playoffs with a defeat to the Galaxy in the conference finals. In October 2000, head coach Dave Dir was fired, despite again taking the team to the playoffs for the fifth consecutive time.
Dir's replacement in January 2001 was Mike Jeffries, who had won the 1998 MLS Cup and two U.S. Open Cups with the Chicago Fire. In his first season in charge, which was cut short as a result of the September 11 attacks, Dallas lost in the playoff quarterfinals to Jeffries' former team. For the 2003 season, the Burn relocated their home games from the Cotton Bowl to the much lower capacity Dragon Stadium (a high school football stadium) in Southlake, which is a northern Fort Worth suburb.
The team performed poorly in 2003 and Jeffries was fired in September. He was temporarily replaced by his assistant, former Northern Irelandinternational Colin Clarke. The team missed the playoffs for the first time, having been one of only two teams to have qualified on all seven prior occasions.
For the 2004 season, Clarke was named the permanent coach and the team returned to the Cotton Bowl, for a campaign in which they again missed the playoffs. In August, club owner Lamar Hunt announced that the club, would be re-branded and known as "FC Dallas" to coincide with their new soccer-specific stadium in Frisco for the 2005 season.
THE FC DALLAS ERA: 2005–PRESENT
In March 2005, FC Dallas signed Guatemalan forward Carlos Ruiz, who had scored 50 goals in 72 games for the Galaxy and earned the MVP award for helping them to the 2002 MLS Cup. On August 6, FC Dallas played their inaugural game at Pizza Hut Park and tied the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, 2–2.
Ranked second in the West behind the San Jose Earthquakes, Dallas returned to the playoffs for the first time in two seasons, losing in the conference semifinals to Colorado in a penalty kick shootout, with Roberto Miña's attempt saved by Joe Cannon. In 2006, the team finished the regular season at the top of the Western Conference, but lost in the playoffs in the conference semifinals again, leading to Clarke's dismissal. He was replaced by Steve Morrow.
In 2007, a third consecutive playoff appearance ended at the same stage with a 4–2 aggregate defeat to fellow Texas club, the Houston Dynamo, who would go on to win their second consecutive MLS Cup. In 2005and 2007, Dallas reached their first two U.S. Open Cup finals since their 1997 victory, losing both by one-goal margins to the Galaxy and the New England Revolutionrespectively.
For the following two seasons, Dallas missed the MLS playoffs. During the 2008 season, Morrow was replaced by Schellas Hyndman. In 2009, the club signed Bryan Leyva as the club's first Homegrown Player from its development academy.
In 2010, Dallas played in the MLS Cup for the first time, losing 2–1 after extra time to Colorado at BMO Field in Toronto, after an own goal by George John. On-loan Colombian midfielder David Ferreira was voted the league's MVP, having missed only one minute of the season, and Hyndman won the MLS Coach of the Year Award.
By finishing as runners-up in the MLS Cup, Dallas competed in the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League, their first time in the leading continental tournament. Following a victory in the preliminary round against Alianza F.C. of El Salvador, they reached the group stage. In the first group game, Marvin Chávez's goal defeated Mexican champions UNAM at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, making Dallas the first MLS team to win an away match in the Champions League against a Mexican team.
The team followed this achievement with a victory by the same score at Toronto FC, but did not win any of their four remaining games and were eliminated from the competition after finishing in third place in their group. In October 2013, Hyndman resigned as head coach after a second consecutive season without making the playoffs.
Three months after Hyndman's resignation, his replacement was confirmed to be Colombian and former Dallas player and assistant coach Óscar Pareja, who had resigned from the Colorado Rapids after two seasons as head coach there. Pareja led the club back to the playoffs in 2014. Dallas finished in first place in the Western Conference in 2015. They defeated the Seattle Sounders FC in the conference semifinals, only to fall to the Portland Timbersin the Western Conference finals.
FRANCHISE'S FIRST DOUBLE
Their regular season performance earned them a return to the Champions League for 2016–17. In 2016 the club won their first Supporters' Shield and second U.S. Open Cup. For the third consecutive year, they met the Sounders in the conference semifinals, this time losing 4–2 on aggregate.
FC DALLAS MAIN STADIUM
From its foundation, the team played in the 92,100-capacity Cotton Bowl in Dallas. In an effort to save money due to the club's unfavorable lease with the Cotton Bowl, the club played its 2003 home games at Dragon Stadium, a high school stadium in Southlake, a Fort Worth suburb. After listening to its fans, the team moved back to the Cotton Bowl for the 2004 season.
In August 2005, the club moved into Pizza Hut Park, a 20,500-capacity soccer-specific stadium in the northern suburb of Frisco. After Pizza Hut left as a primary sponsor, the stadium was renamed as Toyota Stadium in September 2013.
The stadium is part of a complex with 17 soccer fields, booked more than 350 days per year with annual visits of 1.8 million people. The stadium is currently undergoing renovations to incorporate the National Soccer Hall of Fame into the complex.
In the club's early years, Dallas played their home games in the Cotton Bowl. The team is owned by the Hunt Sports Group led by brothers Clark Hunt and Dan Hunt, who is the team's president. The Hunt family also owns the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and part of the Chicago Bulls. The head coach since 2014 is former FC Dallas player Óscar Pareja.
FC Dallas in 2016 won their first Supporters' Shield. In 2010 they were runners-up in the MLS Cup, losing to the Colorado Rapids. The team has won the U.S. Open Cup on two occasions (in 1997 and again in 2016). The International Federation of Football History & Statistics, in its Club World Ranking for the year ending December 31, 2016, placed FC Dallas as the 190th best club in the world and the 9th best club in CONCACAF.
THE DALLAS BURN ERA: 1996–2004
Dallas was awarded a Major League Soccer franchise on June 6, 1995, the same day as teams were awarded to Kansas City and Colorado. The team was given its name for the burning in the Texan oilfields and the state's hot weather. On October 17, former Mexico international Hugo Sánchez was designated to the team as their first player. Initially not attracting investors, the Burn was financed by the league itself.
On April 14, 1996, the Dallas Burn played their first game, defeating the San Jose Clash in a shootout win in front of a crowd of 27,779 fans at the Cotton Bowl.
Five days later, Jason Kreis scored the team's first goal in a 3–0 home win over the Kansas City Wiz. With a record of 17–15, the Burn finished in second in the Western Conference behind the Los Angeles Galaxy. They lost in the best of three playoff semifinals to the Wiz after three games, the last one being decided by a shootout.
Their first campaign in the U.S. Open Cup ended with a 2–3 home defeat in the semi-finals against D.C. United. In their second season, the Burn again reached the playoffs, where they lost in the conference finals to the Colorado Rapids. Later in 1997, they won their first U.S. Open Cup by defeating the MLS Cup champions, D.C. United.
In 1999, striker Kreis was voted the league's MVP for a season in which he became the first player to reach 15 goals and 15 assists. That season ended in the playoffs with a defeat to the Galaxy in the conference finals. In October 2000, head coach Dave Dir was fired, despite again taking the team to the playoffs for the fifth consecutive time.
Dir's replacement in January 2001 was Mike Jeffries, who had won the 1998 MLS Cup and two U.S. Open Cups with the Chicago Fire. In his first season in charge, which was cut short as a result of the September 11 attacks, Dallas lost in the playoff quarterfinals to Jeffries' former team. For the 2003 season, the Burn relocated their home games from the Cotton Bowl to the much lower capacity Dragon Stadium (a high school football stadium) in Southlake, which is a northern Fort Worth suburb.
The team performed poorly in 2003 and Jeffries was fired in September. He was temporarily replaced by his assistant, former Northern Irelandinternational Colin Clarke. The team missed the playoffs for the first time, having been one of only two teams to have qualified on all seven prior occasions.
For the 2004 season, Clarke was named the permanent coach and the team returned to the Cotton Bowl, for a campaign in which they again missed the playoffs. In August, club owner Lamar Hunt announced that the club, would be re-branded and known as "FC Dallas" to coincide with their new soccer-specific stadium in Frisco for the 2005 season.
THE FC DALLAS ERA: 2005–PRESENT
In March 2005, FC Dallas signed Guatemalan forward Carlos Ruiz, who had scored 50 goals in 72 games for the Galaxy and earned the MVP award for helping them to the 2002 MLS Cup. On August 6, FC Dallas played their inaugural game at Pizza Hut Park and tied the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, 2–2.
Ranked second in the West behind the San Jose Earthquakes, Dallas returned to the playoffs for the first time in two seasons, losing in the conference semifinals to Colorado in a penalty kick shootout, with Roberto Miña's attempt saved by Joe Cannon. In 2006, the team finished the regular season at the top of the Western Conference, but lost in the playoffs in the conference semifinals again, leading to Clarke's dismissal. He was replaced by Steve Morrow.
In 2007, a third consecutive playoff appearance ended at the same stage with a 4–2 aggregate defeat to fellow Texas club, the Houston Dynamo, who would go on to win their second consecutive MLS Cup. In 2005and 2007, Dallas reached their first two U.S. Open Cup finals since their 1997 victory, losing both by one-goal margins to the Galaxy and the New England Revolutionrespectively.
For the following two seasons, Dallas missed the MLS playoffs. During the 2008 season, Morrow was replaced by Schellas Hyndman. In 2009, the club signed Bryan Leyva as the club's first Homegrown Player from its development academy.
In 2010, Dallas played in the MLS Cup for the first time, losing 2–1 after extra time to Colorado at BMO Field in Toronto, after an own goal by George John. On-loan Colombian midfielder David Ferreira was voted the league's MVP, having missed only one minute of the season, and Hyndman won the MLS Coach of the Year Award.
By finishing as runners-up in the MLS Cup, Dallas competed in the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League, their first time in the leading continental tournament. Following a victory in the preliminary round against Alianza F.C. of El Salvador, they reached the group stage. In the first group game, Marvin Chávez's goal defeated Mexican champions UNAM at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, making Dallas the first MLS team to win an away match in the Champions League against a Mexican team.
The team followed this achievement with a victory by the same score at Toronto FC, but did not win any of their four remaining games and were eliminated from the competition after finishing in third place in their group. In October 2013, Hyndman resigned as head coach after a second consecutive season without making the playoffs.
Three months after Hyndman's resignation, his replacement was confirmed to be Colombian and former Dallas player and assistant coach Óscar Pareja, who had resigned from the Colorado Rapids after two seasons as head coach there. Pareja led the club back to the playoffs in 2014. Dallas finished in first place in the Western Conference in 2015. They defeated the Seattle Sounders FC in the conference semifinals, only to fall to the Portland Timbersin the Western Conference finals.
FRANCHISE'S FIRST DOUBLE
Their regular season performance earned them a return to the Champions League for 2016–17. In 2016 the club won their first Supporters' Shield and second U.S. Open Cup. For the third consecutive year, they met the Sounders in the conference semifinals, this time losing 4–2 on aggregate.
FC DALLAS MAIN STADIUM
From its foundation, the team played in the 92,100-capacity Cotton Bowl in Dallas. In an effort to save money due to the club's unfavorable lease with the Cotton Bowl, the club played its 2003 home games at Dragon Stadium, a high school stadium in Southlake, a Fort Worth suburb. After listening to its fans, the team moved back to the Cotton Bowl for the 2004 season.
In August 2005, the club moved into Pizza Hut Park, a 20,500-capacity soccer-specific stadium in the northern suburb of Frisco. After Pizza Hut left as a primary sponsor, the stadium was renamed as Toyota Stadium in September 2013.
The stadium is part of a complex with 17 soccer fields, booked more than 350 days per year with annual visits of 1.8 million people. The stadium is currently undergoing renovations to incorporate the National Soccer Hall of Fame into the complex.
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