As of Jan. 1, Pizza Hut will no longer be sponsoring FC Dallas and Pizza Hut Park. The complex, which includes the stadium and 17 adjacent soccer fields, will officially be re-branded FC Dallas Stadium after the Football Championship Subdivision title game Jan. 7.
In this current economic climate it should come as no surprise that corporations (including Pizza Hut) are pulling back in the area of sponsorships, Cowboys Stadium has never landed a sponsor and Rangers Ballpark has gone through several, but this news may still gall FCD fans a little coming on the heels of the new stadium rights deal for the Houston Dynamo.
Already seeking a jersey sponsor, FC Dallas will now add a stadium sponsorship to the ongoing sponsor search for quality corporations with sponsor cash to spend. Here's the official statement I got from the club when I asked about specifics.
Pizza Hut, as the company has recently shown with some of its other venue agreements, has shifted its sports marketing philosophy and will no longer be our naming rights partner. We are actively searching for a new naming rights partner for the stadium and are in discussions with several interested companies. Meanwhile, after the FCS game on Jan. 7, we will be referred to as FC Dallas Stadium until a new deal is reached.
Removal of Pizza Hut signage from the soon to named FC Dallas Stadium should began in the next few weeks.