Tickets For Beckham's First MLS Match On Sale Thursday

FRISCO, Texas (AP) - Tickets to see David Beckham's first game against Major League Soccer competition go on sale Thursday, and the general manager of FC Dallas has no doubts that the English star

Wednesday, July 4th 2007, 9:08 pm

By: News On 6

FRISCO, Texas (AP) - Tickets to see David Beckham's first game against Major League Soccer competition go on sale Thursday, and the general manager of FC Dallas has no doubts that the English star will draw a sellout.

Beckham, who is joining the Los Angeles Galaxy next week, will suit up July 31 in Frisco against FC Dallas. The game is part of a tournament and not a regular season matchup.

The tickets to the game at Pizza Hut Park will cost about twice the usual FC Dallas game, ranging from $35 for the end zone to $250 for field-side seats.

FC Dallas general manager Michael Hitchcock said the prices are similar to those at Pizza Hut Park for the 2005 and 2006 MLS Cup championship matches.

``We feel pretty confident that it's going to become the hottest ticket in town,'' Hitchcock said. ``There's only one chance to see Beckham the first time and we're the first Major League Soccer team he's going to play against and we've already sold over 10,000 tickets without even putting them on sale to the public, and we only have 20,500 seats, so we think the tickets are going to move fast.''

Hitchcock compared Beckham to Michael Jordan and says that anticipation for the July 31 game has been very high.

``He's more than that, he's a rock star,'' Hitchcock said. ``He's become one of the few brands out there in professional sports. This is the first time, as a league and as a team, we've had the equivalent of a Michael Jordan coming to play. The feedback and response, before we've even put them on sale to the public, has been overwhelming.''

The Galaxy will face English club Chelsea in an exhibition game on July 21 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., before playing FC Dallas.

The game is part of the SuperLiga, an eight-team tournament pitting the top four MLS clubs and the top four Mexican club teams in a Champions League-style competition.

His first regular season MLS contest will be Aug. 5 on the road against Toronto FC.