Dallas Burn Soccer Team

[Quiz03]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/topstories/stories/010303dnspoburnmove.5535acea.html

Burn may set up shop in Southlake
Team ready to cut ties with Cotton Bowl, play at high school for year

01/03/2003

By STEVE DAVIS / The Dallas Morning News


The Dallas Burn appears close to severing its seven-year relationship with the Cotton Bowl and is nearing an agreement that will move the soccer team's home games to Southlake Carroll High School's Dragon Stadium.

The Carroll ISD school board will meet Monday to consider a one-year lease and operating agreement with the Burn, Carroll superintendent Gary Mathews confirmed Friday.


Also Online
Map of the area near Dragon Stadium (pdf)

"We have not concluded all the different elements as of today," Mathews said Friday afternoon. "But I will tell you my notion is very positive about it. It's win-win for both parties."
But a win for Southlake Carroll's football stadium would be a loss for the Cotton Bowl and Fair Park, where the Burn brought more than 200,000 people last year. The club has played in the Cotton Bowl since Major League Soccer began in 1996.


To find directions to Dragon Stadium, click on the stadium finder below.

Southlake Carroll's Dragon Stadium, primarily a high school football field, is 23 miles northwest of downtown Dallas. It opened in September 2001, officially seating 7,500 fans. But about 11,000 watched a high school football playoff game there last month, thanks to additional bleachers and seating in the stadium's grassy berms.
Although Mathews is optimistic the Burn will play at Dragon Stadium this year, Burn general manager Andy Swift said that until a final agreement is reached, several sites remain options for this year, including the Cotton Bowl.

"Nothing final has been decided," he said.

Dragon Stadium, however, appears closest to hosting the team temporarily. If the Burn does relocate to a suburb, it will probably be for one year only. The club is exploring sites, particularly one in Frisco, for a permanent, soccer specific stadium.

MLS leaders have long maintained that ownership of their own stadiums is critical to the league's financial success. Without that control, MLS teams often get short shrift on the ancillary revenues – mainly parking and concession profits – that help drive sports financing.

The Burn is the Cotton Bowl's only regular tenant, occupying the stadium and generating money for the city for 18-22 dates annually. SMU played its home football games there in 1995-99 before its on-campus stadium opened.

The decision to possibly leave the Cotton Bowl is being driven by Hunt Sports Group, owned by Dallas' Lamar Hunt. HSG operates the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and two other MLS clubs. HSG announced its intentions early last year to take over the Burn, but has yet to do so.

The Dallas Park Board – Fair Park and the Cotton Bowl are part of the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department – is scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss an extension of the Burn's lease agreement, a meeting that will prove unnecessary if the Burn reaches an agreement Monday with the Carroll ISD.

"We've known all along that they are looking for a soccer specific stadium," Fair Park general manager Eddie Hueston said. "That was from the beginning. But we would like to keep them, there is no question about that."

The Cotton Bowl charges the Burn a nominal rent, about $15,000 per game. But city contracts complicate the team's ability to keep more than a small percentage of parking and concession money.

"Any place we might go on a temporary basis, we would only go there if we felt it was a better economic situation," said Hunt Sports Group president John Wagner, who is working closely with the Burn on many issues.

Wagner said any stadium to which the Burn relocates temporarily must have a minimum of 12,000 seats, which could include temporary bleachers. Wagner and Mathews said both sides are still discussing the issue of potential beer sales.

Dragon Stadium's FieldTurf surface (with longer strands of plastic "grass" than the traditional artificial surfaces) is not ideal for soccer. But it is far better than the former models of synthetic turf.


Burn officials understand a move away from downtown might alienate some of the team's Latino fans. But they said the various financial benefits made the risk worthwhile.

E-mail stevedavis@dallasnews.com

[CTroyMathis]

I'm sorry that I don't have anything really grand or inspiring to say about this topic yet. I follow the Dallas Burn closely and their goings-on, and, this has been an irritating turn of events yet again.

[gc]

yeah I agree. Boooo to this decision.

[freewaytincan]

So they want a high school stadium instead? Wow, I thought I had bad ideas sometimes...this tops them all...

[rantanamo]

Believe it or not, there are several high school stadiums in the metroplex that are nicer than the Cotton Bowl. Video replay, Field Turf type turf (the fake grass stuff like the Cowboys), upscale locker rooms, camera systems, and advanced communications will be the norm in 5 years for them. And are already present in many. The Cotton Bowl has none of these. For the crowds they get, I understand that a smaller stadium makes sense. The City should really consider building them a smaller stadium, or rennovating Lowes up to modern standards that can host football and track&field as well. These types of fields pay for themselves basically with advertising and rental fees from events because of the low price of upkeep and construction price. I'd put it right in the Farmers Market area as part of a downtown park near City Hall

[tamtagon]

One of the initial reasons the Burn (and world cup paly-offs) happened in Dallas was the existance of a stadium with a field large enough for soccer.

[gc]

It's an empty feeling for Burn faithful
Since its move, team has lost a lot of its Hispanic followers
01:01 AM CDT on Friday, October 24, 2003
By STEVE DAVIS / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/sports/soccer/stories/102403dnspohispanicburn.5a851.html

Jesus Barrera missed very few Burn games at the Cotton Bowl. He and his wife traveled faithfully from Fort Worth to sit with friends in La Mara Loca ("The Crazy Bunch"), a supporters group whose festive drums helped keep game days merry at Fair Park.

This year? Barrera watched maybe "four or five" games, he said, even though the club moved much closer to his Tarrant County home.

"I just didn't like the new stadium," he said. "A lot of people don't."

Especially the club's Latino fans. The Burn's move from the Cotton Bowl to a transitional home in suburban Southlake has choked the enthusiasm from many of its Hispanic followers, temporarily costing the club a significant portion of its most loyal audience.

Club officials are confident that many of the wayward Latino fans will return once the teams settles in 2005 into its 20,000-seat facility in Frisco, where ground should be broken later this year.

Burn officials say they value the Latino supporters but know they may have unintentionally alienated some of them by trekking up Highway 114 to Dragon Stadium, away from Dallas' largest concentrations of Hispanics.

Plus, loyalists of all ethnicities consider the stadium overly antiseptic and supremely unsuitable for professional soccer.

About 30 to 40 percent of the club's audience has historically come from the Hispanic community. Andy Swift, who just resigned after four seasons as the Burn general manager, said the figure fell to 10 to 15 percent this year.

The missing Latino element has certainly affected attendance figures. The average is down 40 percent this year going into Saturday's final game.

The club averaged 13,122 fans a game in 2002 but fell to a franchise all-time low of 7,834 this year. That's almost 50 percent less than the overall league average this year of 14,882.

A miserable season on the field – the Burn (5-19-5) will set a club mark for worst record – certainly contributed to the shrinking gate. But the Latino fans were visibly absent from Game 1.

Once the team announced its relocation in December, whispers spread quickly among Latino fans that the club was apathetic about them, Barrera said.

Not so at all, says new Burn general manager Greg Elliott.

"Every person who walks and talks is a value to us," he said.

Elliott said the Burn is fully aware of the growing financial muscle of the Latino market. But finding ways to reach that audience and communicate with it effectively has been more problematic.

"There have been some difficulties within a lot of the country, both in sports and nonsports, of truly unlocking effective relationships with a lot of ethnicities," he said.

The Burn moved to Southlake hoping to save about $1 million by adding revenue from parking and concessions, revenue previously lost to the City of Dallas under former contracts. But Swift estimates the club saved only about half of what was expected. Plus, corporate sponsors are lamenting the foundering Hispanic interest.

"We underestimated the impact the Hispanic market has on our business' bottom line," Swift said.

Not only did the bottom line suffer, the game atmosphere cratered. Burn fans knew the east side at the Cotton Bowl, termed as the "festive" side, was for the rowdier audience. They yelled, cheered, banged drums and clanged away at the Cotton Bowl's metal seats.

"For the Mexican and Salvadoran fans, the move was so difficult," said Carlos Alvarado, the team's Spanish-language play-by-play voice. "They don't like the [Southlake] stadium, and the team was going the wrong way [competitively]."

The distance was a problem, 23 miles north of downtown Dallas in a community that few city dwellers, of any ethnicity, could locate without a Mapsco.

Barrera said he knew plenty of people who walked to the Cotton Bowl or rode bicycles. And none appreciated slight increases in ticket prices for the most inexpensive general-admission seats. The frugal fan who once sat on the Cotton Bowl's east side for general-admission prices had been relegated to the Dragon Stadium end zone.

Lack of beer sales was a prominent issue within the Latino audience, Alvarado said, although he personally supported the family-first concept of curbing beers sales at games.

Swift worked hard to build the team's Hispanic audience. The TCU graduate who is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, worked with Hispanic marketing and in Hispanic media relations while wearing various hats during the club's infancy.

The typical Latino fan is passionate about soccer, he said. Modern amenities in updated facilities mean less than history and, simply, a facility conducive to good soccer.

It's the same way baseball fans cherish Fenway Park or Wrigley Field, where history and the game itself are paramount to comfortable seats or snazzy concession areas. To the Latino fan, the Cotton Bowl and its fabulous grass pitch, which had hosted World Cup games and the Mexican national team, was something just this side of a shrine.

On the other side, the fake grass striped with permanent football markings at Dragon Stadium was anathema to passionate fans of all ethnicities – especially to the soccer-savvy Hispanic audience.

"The soccer is just not as good at Southlake," Swift said. "Even when good teams came to play the Burn this year, the soccer just wasn't great."

E-mail stevedavis@dallasnews.com

Colorado (11-11-7) at Burn (5-19-5), 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dragon Stadium, Southlake (KESS-AM 1270 in Spanish)

[dallastophoenix]

...and w/ their move to Frisco - another city that is 99% white - these once loyal Hispanic fans will continue to miss the games... sad, sad, sad that Dallas can't keep the team at the Cotton Bowl.

[ibryant]

You know...a mentally-handicapped squirrel could have told them that this was going to happen. I think every member of this forum and every citizen of Dallas could have told them that moving to Southlake, and worse yet, Frisco would essentially be committing suicide. How could anyone have thought this made good business sense??!?!? Did they seriously not realize that the core of their fan base was hispanic? They underestimated the impact the hispanic market had on their bottom line!!!! All I can say is "Wow!", and I sure hope they come crawling back to Dallas and the Cotton Bowl with their tails tucked between their legs.

[JaeTex]

They were probably making a play for the suburban non-hispanic fan and were hoping that would make up for the loss. But soccer moms haven't been a big enough crowd. And when you throw no beer sales into the mix...who is going to want to go to a sporting event w/o a beer? That's part of the whole game experience along with hot dogs and nachos.

Plus, have you seen what soccer looks like on a football field? I saw a highlight a while back and it just looked strange. How can you watch that for hours?

[barrycb]

Ditto. Everyone is so infatuated with the burbs that they can't see the forest for the trees. Unfortunately, until we fix our school system, that will continue to be the case.

[JBB]

Looks like the Burn are getting their act together for one more year before they escape to the 'burbs again in '05.

Burn moving back to Cotton Bowl for '04
08:32 PM CST on Thursday, November 13, 2003

By STEVE DAVIS / The Dallas Morning News


Burn officials have abandoned their temporary, cost-cutting gambit, electing instead to return to the Cotton Bowl for a final season in 2004.

The team will return to the Fair Park grounds where it spent its first seven years (1996-2002), eschewing a second season at unpopular Dragon Stadium in suburban Southlake.

The Burn moved from the Cotton Bowl to Dragon Stadium for the 2003 season, then announced a deal to build a $65 million, 20,000-seat stadium in Frisco. The new stadium will be ready for the 2005 season.

New Burn general manager Gregg Elliott called the Cotton Bowl return "the right thing to do."

"As an organization, we pride ourselves on maintaining open and direct communication with our fans and the marketplace," Elliott said. "In this case, our fans spoke loud and clear, and we listened."

Loud and clear, indeed.

What started as a well-intentioned cost-cutting measure – an attempt to minimize owner Lamar Hunt's losses – quickly turned ruinous in every way possible.

Fans complained about the new ground's antiseptic atmosphere, about the lack of beer sales, about changes in pricing and seating structure and about the dizzying, permanent football lines.

The club's loyal and valuable Latino fans, who felt somewhat marginalized by the move, stayed faithfully away from Dragon Stadium.

All the factors combined for an attendance decline of almost 40 percent. The club's average attendance of 7,906, the second lowest in MLS history, minimized the expected savings.

Plus, former coach Mike Jeffries admitted neither he nor the players adjusted well to the new surface.

The club finished with an all-time worst 6-19-5 record and set club marks for fewest goals scored and most goals allowed. The Burn's record was the worst in MLS this year, and the club failed to make the league playoffs for the first time.

Jeffries was fired Sept. 15. Assistant coach Colin Clarke finished the season while team officials began the hunt for a new coach.

The Burn players certainly appreciated Thursday's announcement.

"I think this is an awesome decision," said Jason Kreis, the team's all-time leading scorer. "It takes a class group of individuals to admit they made a mistake and then to change it. I'm proud to be part of an organization that would make a decision like this."

Kreis suffered a season-ending injury when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee Aug. 13 on the Dragon Stadium artificial turf. There was no contact during Kreis' injury.

"Players tear their ACL on grass, and they tear it on turf," he said. "But I felt like my foot got stuck in the turf in a way it wouldn't have on grass."

Aside from the injury factor, the players deplored Dragon Stadium's fast surface – especially since they were accustomed to the Cotton Bowl field that was generally regarded as the best in Major League Soccer.

E-mail stevedavis@dallasnews.com

[CTroyMathis]

Groundbreaking kicks off soccer complex
By: MIKE RAYE , Staff writer 02/20/2004
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11002528&BRD=1426&PAG=461&dept_id=528197&rfi=6

Dallas Burn forward Jason Kreis has many accomplishments in his soccer life. A three-time All-America at Duke University and the second all-time leading scorer in the history of Major League Soccer, he has more game-winning goals than anyone in the league's eight-year existence.

Awaiting the groundbreaking ceremonies for the $65 million Frisco Soccer and Entertainment Center, wearing a red hardhat matching his game jersey, he said he felt a sense of pride and excitement about the April 2005 opening. Glancing over at the pee-wee and high school soccer players kicking around he wore a shade of green as well.

"Just imagine this," he said. "Just imagine that you're ages 10 to 15, a 16-year-old kid and you go out and play a couple of games during the day and then you just walk over to the stadium and get to watch our game at night. That's a dream come true. That's something that I'm so jealous of all the kids that are growing up now in this game here - they have so many opportunities to excel and to learn the game from professionals that people of my age never had. It's an awesome opportunity for them and I hope everyone takes advantage of it."

The centerpiece of the complex, just off Main Street and the Dallas North Tollway, will be a 20,000-seat soccer-specific stadium that will be the home of the Burn - the second of its kind in the country. It can be expanded to accommodate another 2,000 or so fans and will be used for high school football contests and concerts in addition to international soccer matches. The 115-acre facility will include 17 full-sized, tournament-grade soccer fields which will be used year round, making the complex the focal point of youth soccer in North Texas and one of the showcase facilities in the country, planners said.

In the shadow of the MLS stadium will be Dr. Erwin Pink Field, a 600-seat high school stadium that will see Frisco ISD competition.

An estimated 1.4 million spectators and participants are expected to visit the facility annually, which has become a standard for future soccer facilities.

"Our goal in Major League Soccer is to stand alongside the great soccer leagues around the world and to be among the major leagues in this country. With this facility we are getting one step closer to our goal," said MLS Commissioner Don Garber.

"In recent months we have been traveling across the country pointing to 'the Frisco Model' of a soccer-specific stadium, using this as an example of the public and private sectors coming together on a sports project," he said.

Last month the league announced plans for a new soccer stadium to be built in Bridgeview, Illinois for the Chicago Fire and the Home Depot Center, the new home of the Los Angeles Galaxy - both built with the Frisco blueprint of design and public-private cooperation, Garber said.

Dallas Burn investor/ operator Lamar Hunt's Hunt Sports Group is one of the partners in the project. Founder of the Kansas City Chiefs National Football League team, Hunt was instrumental in forming the American Football League in 1959. When the AFL merged with the NFL in 1966, Hunt was the driving force behind it. He is credited with coining the term "Super Bowl" to describe the championship game. He also came up with the idea of using Roman numerals for the contests, according to NFL lore. The American Football Conference championship trophy is named for him, and he was a 1972 inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Hunt is known as a champion of professional soccer as well, beginning with the U.S. Soccer Association in 1967 and the North American Soccer League in 1968. As the owner of the Dallas Tornado, one of the NASL's model franchises for 14 years, Hunt saw the league grow from five clubs in 1969 to 24 ten years later. The NASL folded early in 1985 but when Major League Soccer was formed in 1996 Hunt was again at the forefront. He said he sees the Frisco complex as another jewel in the crown of professional sports in North Texas.

"I think it's an important step for sports in North Texas," Hunt said. "Going back 30 years ago when the Cowboys built Texas Stadium, it was a big step for that franchise to have their own home. When the American Airlines Center was built it meant that the Mavericks and the Stars had an exceptional, first-class facility. We're in that same mode here. Clearly this facility will lift the sport of soccer and the Dallas Burn in particular to a new high level."

The City of Frisco, Frisco ISD and Collin County teamed up with the sports interests to build the complex, and will share costs along the way. The city will contribute $20 million and FISD $15 million over 20 years and Hunt Sports Group will pay $10 million up front. HSG will pay for maintenance and operations at the facility, and will pay the city $100,000 per year in rent over the course of a 20 year lease, with options for two 20-year extensions after that.

"Three of our long-term objectives the city council has that this project will go a long way toward accomplishing are ensuring our long-term financial health, making Frisco a 'destination location' and bringing youth and family entertainment to this area," said Frisco Mayor Mike Simpson. "There is nothing more important than our families and our quality of life."

Simpson said Frisco's burgeoning population will assure long-term success for the stadium and fields.

"This population in our city has more than doubled since 2000 to now over 63,000 people. We will hit 124,000 people by 2010, with an average age of 30. I assure you this complex will be totally filled," the mayor said.

"This is a multiple-win project for Collin County," said County Commissioner Phyllis Cole. "It is definitely a spark for economic development. Fans from all over will flock to Frisco for soccer and enjoy our fine restaurants and hotels, and hopefully stay for a couple of days and enjoy our wonderful facilities."

All parties agreed the seeds of the success for the venture are planted among the region's youth soccer programs.

"While the Dallas Burn may be new to Frisco, soccer certainly isn't," Simpson said. "The Frisco Soccer Association boasts over 3600 players of all ages. For them there is the opportunity now to see the best players in the world right here in our own back yard. It wasn't long ago that only a few people knew where Frisco, Texas was. This new facility will put us on the international map."

For Dallas Burn players, fanning the flames of the sport's popularity with local youth is an opportunity and a responsibility, said Kreis, and he expects the team to be fully involved with the community.

"We are going to be training here every day so that represents an opportunity for kids that are going to be training here to watch us train. Maybe there'll be opportunities for us to just walk over to the next field over and have a little laugh with some kids. I think that is just going to be awesome."

[CTroyMathis]

http://www.dallasburn.com/images/stadium/w_NWOverall.jpg
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http://www.dallasburn.com/images/stadium/w_NWOverall-note.jpg
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http://www.dallasburn.com/images/stadium/w_Plan.jpg

DALLAS BURN SCHEDULES GROUNBREAKING;
NEW 20,000-SEAT STADIUM AND ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX WILL BE UNDER CONSTRUCTION ON FEBRUARY 18
MLS Commissioner Don Garber, Burn Principal Lamar Hunt and Dallas Burn Team to Participate in Historic Event for Area Soccer

DALLAS - In what undoubtedly will be one of the most significant sports occasions in the Dallas/Fort Worth area as well as for the entire sport of soccer, the Dallas Burn will host the official groundbreaking ceremony for their new stadium and entertainment complex in Frisco on Wednesday, February 18. In addition to the groundbreaking, an unveiling of the official facility design to the general public will take place for the first time.

Beginning in the spring of 2005, the Burn will play their home schedule at the Frisco Soccer & Entertainment Center, which is being developed by Hunt Sports Group (HSG) at the intersection of Main Street and the North Dallas Toll Road in Frisco. This 115-acre facility will feature a 20,000-plus-seat soccer stadium that will serve as the new home of the Burn and accommodate other events such as major concerts, international soccer matches and high school football. Adjacent to the stadium will be 17 full-sized, tournament grade soccer fields which can be utilized on a year-round basis, making the center the focal point of youth soccer in North Texas and one of the showcase facilities in the country. An estimated 1.4 million spectators and participants are expected to visit the facility annually.

Speaking on behalf of Hunt Sports Group, their Chairman of the Managers Lamar Hunt said, "This is an extremely exciting day for the sports fans of the Metroplex. Hunt Sports is very proud to be associated with Colin County, the city of Frisco and the Frisco Independent School District in the development of this outstanding entertainment facility to be built near the corner of Main Street and the Dallas North Toll Road. This facility will set new standards for both functional design and creative uses, which will bring enjoyment to the public for years to come."

The groundbreaking ceremony, which will be emceed by legendary Dallas-area broadcaster Brad Sham, will run from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The official groundbreaking will take place from 11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. followed by a luncheon from 11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. catered by La Hacienda Ranch across Main Street at Frisco Square. Over 300 guests, including MLS Commissioner Don Garber, Lamar Hunt and John Wagner representing HSG, Burn President and General Manager Greg Elliott, Burn Head Coach Colin Clarke, a large contingent of Burn players as well as dignitaries from Collin County, Frisco ISD, the City of Frisco and North Texas Soccer will be in attendance at the event.

The $65 million Frisco Soccer & Entertainment Center is an innovative public-private partnership that will connect a professional soccer stadium with youth fields for the first time. Participants are Collin County, the City of Frisco, the Frisco Independent School District and HSG. As the operator of the Burn, HSG, which developed Major League Soccer's first soccer-specific stadium in Columbus, Ohio, will operate the facility under a 20-year lease with two 20-year options and will assume the risk of all operating and maintenance expenses.
http://www.dallasburn.com

[CTroyMathis]

And, all the other News articles here:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/sdavis/stories/021804dnspodavis.13c20.html

[Columbus Civil]

Those renderings look great. That will be a nice facility.

[tamtagon]

Looks like the plan allows easy capacity expantion, too.

[Quiz03]

Looks like it might be the nicest high school stadium in the country.

[freewaytincan]

Why the **** do they need all those dang fields?! And right next to the downtown area! More suburban trash, I'm telling you. More bloody debtors going to pick up their spoiled children from practice. Way to go.