Dan Hunt, president of FC Dallas, celebrates the naming rights deal for MoneyGram Soccer Park with Pete Ohser, MoneyGram's executive VP for the U.S. and Canada, and Clark Hunt, Chairman of Hunt Sports Group. (Photo by FC Dallas)
Formerly a landfill, MoneyGram Soccer Park in northwest Dallas has come a long way. The city’s 15-year effort to turn the Elm Fork complex into a premium soccer facility has finally paid off. FC Dallas will run the complex, which consists of 14 full-size fields and five junior fields, and long-time sponsor MoneyGram has come in with a multiyear naming rights deal for the facility.
Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas began having discussions with the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department about two years ago, expressing interest in managing the nine-year-old facility.
“We want to be all things soccer and want to be involved with and assist in the growth of soccer in North Texas,” explained FC Dallas CFO Jimmy Smith. “I think a big reason that we won the bid was not only our relationship with the city, but our expertise in soccer.”
The city opened up management for bid about one year ago and, after a six-month process through the Parks and Recreation board and city council, made a decision Oct. 23. FC Dallas took over as the exclusive operator Jan. 1. The contract extends for five years, with two options to renew based on performance, for a potential 15-year agreement.
MoneyGram Soccer Park has spectator bleachers and is expected to bring 1 million visitors each year. A plan to expand in a phase two is included in the city’s original plan for the complex and, at 120 acres, there’s room to grow if the demand is there. The property will ‘kick off’ with the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup April 13-20, which is one of the largest and oldest international youth soccer tournaments in the world.
“It’s one of the things the City of Dallas really hangs its hat on each year,” said FC Dallas President Dan Hunt, who played in the tournament himself twice. He added that David Beckham played in the tournament during his youth. “Many players with great history have been in the tournament, and they’re not just from the United States.”
The multicultural aspect of the $31-million facility was particularly important to facility naming rights sponsor MoneyGram International. The company has had a relationship with FC Dallas since 2012, and has even collaborated to create the MoneyGram Nations Cup at FC Dallas’ home stadium, Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlins (far left) and other FC Dallas and MoneyGram execs celebrate the opening of MoneyGram Soccer Park by taking a few shots on goal. (Photo by FC Dallas)
Hal Gronfein, MoneyGram International’s VP of Marketing USA and Canada, emphasized the importance of partnerships and international appeal when it came time to sign a naming rights deal.
“In a lot of instances, people who get involved with properties like FC Dallas look at sponsorship as a one-way street, but we very much believe that these aren’t partnerships, they are truly partnerships,” said Gronfein. “We’re the type of partner that will take a partnership like this and enhance the relationship.”
The naming rights agreement for MoneyGram Soccer Park also spans five years, with two options for renewal. The contract came together quickly between FC Dallas and MoneyGram International, with Gronfein estimating that the initial conversation took 37 minutes and, in a couple of days, papers were signed.
In FC Dallas’ contract with the city, the team is responsible for securing sponsorships and keeps all of the profits involved.
One unique idea that MoneyGram brought to the table was to name the 19 fields after countries, since the company does business with more than 200 countries globally.
“They wanted to name the fields ‘one, two, three’ and so on, but we wanted to give it an international flair,” said Gronfein. “We took the 19 fields and named them for countries that represent the local population here in Dallas, and also have a big meaning for us from a transactional standpoint.”
Some of the countries chosen include the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Guatemala, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Spain and India.
“They’re countries that really represent the diaspora of the international population in North Texas,” added Gronfein.
MoneyGram Soccer Park will primarily focus on its namesake sport, soccer. However, FC Dallas is looking at bringing in additional events and sports as well, with C2C Lacrosse already tapped to use the fields.
FC Dallas isn’t concerned about any potential competition for events between Toyota Stadium and its surrounding fields and the new MoneyGram Soccer Park because, the team insists, there aren’t enough soccer fields in the city for all of the events.
“From a venue standpoint, if you talk to our turf guy at Toyota Stadium, he’d say that we’re over-booked and need to cut hours because the turf can’t handle it, so there’s no concern at all,” said Smith. “It’s going to be picking and choosing and getting the right events for the community, the city, and for each facility.”
The team also hopes to expand youth soccer in hopes to not only help the local community, but also their product on the field.
FC Dallas has helped more than 100 graduating seniors in its youth program receive scholarships for both sports and academics, with some students coming back as interns for the organization and turning into employees. The team has set the bar high when it comes to the youth soccer program.
“Our goal is to have our professional team be at least half made up of players from the DFWT Metroplex,” said Hunt. “We’ll always have players from the draft and international players, but in growing our youth program we’ll have the unique ability to have many locally-talented players on the roster.”
“It really gives the team a sense of community — we’re the team of Dallas,” added Hunt.
Interviewed for this story: Dan Hunt and Jimmy Smith, (469) 365-0054; Hal Gronfein, (214) 303-9923