FRISCO, Texas – FC Dallas has reached a long-term agreement with Toyota to name the popular North Texas sports and entertainment venue Toyota Stadium, while the 17 professional-grade soccer fields adjacent to the stadium will be called Toyota Soccer Center.

“Whether on the field or on the road, customers of both Toyota and FC Dallas share a passion for great products and great success,” said Brent Hillyer, vice president, Gulf States Toyota. “We are proud to partner with FC Dallas to sponsor this world-class stadium and complex, and are looking forward to supporting the team.”

Spanning 145 acres in the heart of Frisco, Texas, Toyota Stadium and Toyota Soccer Center together are booked 350 days of the year, hosting more than 1.8 million visitors annually. Not only is Toyota Stadium home to Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas, the venue also hosts international soccer matches, the NCAA FCS Championship, AAC Men’s Soccer Championship and concerts.

“This is a monumental day for our organization,” said Dan Hunt, vice president of Hunt Sports Group. “My entire family and I are so excited to be partnered with Toyota. I wish my father was alive today to see Toyota join FC Dallas in helping soccer grow across the Metroplex and Texas. This stadium complex was one of his favorite projects and will always be extra special to me as the last project I got to do with him before he passed. I know having such a wonderful partner as Toyota step up and put their name on it would make him proud.”

The vision of FC Dallas founder and American sports legend Lamar Hunt, Toyota Stadium and Toyota Soccer Center was the third soccer specific stadium and complex built in the United States. Today, Toyota honors Hunt and his vision by becoming the new naming rights partner of one of his final major projects and the exclusive automotive partner of FC Dallas, FC Dallas Youth, North Texas State Soccer Association, the annual King TUT youth tournament and the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup. Toyota will have an active presence in everything soccer in the North Texas Region, including FC Dallas grassroots initiatives.

Toyota Stadium and Toyota Soccer Center are also home to more than 4,000 boys and girls participating in FC Dallas youth soccer, ranked among the nation’s best in player development. The 2011 U.S. Soccer Development Academy Rankings gave the FC Dallas Academy the highest marks in the nation, which included one of just two perfect five-star facility ratings among MLS clubs. National and international events at the venue have combined to rank Toyota Stadium and Toyota Soccer Center as the fifth most attended venue in North Texas, according to the Dallas Business Journal

About Gulf States Toyota

Houston-based Gulf States Toyota is the independent distributor of Toyota vehicles in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. The company serves 154 Toyota dealerships in the region. These dealers account for more than 13 percent of Toyota sales in the U.S. The company introduced Toyota vehicles to the region in 1969. The parent company of GST is The Friedkin Group, led by CEO Dan Friedkin.

-FCDallas.com-