Soccer Columnist Steve Davis

A few tough lessons have been gained here and there. And selling seats at Pizza Hut Park has been a little tougher than expected.

But FC Dallas general manager Michael Hitchcock, the man imported to put bodies in seats, says the club isn't far off its targets.

The stadium turned a year old this month. This Saturday, after nearly a month on the road, the team plays its first game inside the $85 million facility since the first anniversary passed.

At 14,725 fans a game, FC Dallas is seventh among 12 MLS clubs in attendance, and slightly beneath the overall league average of 15,496. The actual number of people attending games is significantly beneath the announced total, at some games by as much as half; announcing tickets distributed is standard industry practice in most pro and college sports.

The club hasn't officially sold out an MLS game this year, which means Hitchcock probably won't reach his stated goal of five sellouts in 2006.

Still, he is encouraged by season-ticket sales that he says are double what the club had in 2005 (although the club will not disclose totals) and remains confident that the building will continue to drive sales.

"We've got some things going that we think will create some momentum," Hitchcock said of matches in September and October. "But until we sell out the building each and every night, we're not going to be happy."

They have sold out the 20,500-seat facility twice for soccer: at last year's MLS Cup final and for a January InterLiga doubleheader involving Mexican teams.

But selling FC Dallas has been a taller order.

Hitchcock has slowly built a new front-office roster, trading outgoing staffers more familiar with the local market for new staffers who might have fresh ideas. Some targets have proven easier to peg than others.

For instance, Hitchcock says corporate sales are robust, which certainly assists in meeting the bottom line.

But the club continues to struggle in its approach to the Latino market. Some efforts have been clumsy, at best.

Hitchcock built his reputation selling tickets in impressive numbers in Washington, D.C., Denver and most recently Los Angeles. He says nothing has been a big surprise to him about the North Texas market.

One factor in FC Dallas' corner: The facility's business model included selling the stadium for concerts, high school football and, of course, international soccer games. The ability to pack 30,000 people into the bowl for a Kenny Chesney concert, as PHP did in July, permits everyone to be a little patient as the fan-building for soccer moves forward.

"We know we're going to get there," Hitchcock said. "It's just going to take a little more time than we all would have liked."

E-mail stevedavis@dallasnews.com