AT&T and Alexi Lalas Kick Off MLS Cup 2011 in Los Angeles

DALLAS, Nov. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As fans gear up to watch the LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo go head-to-head in the epic finale of the season, AT&T*, along with Major League Soccer, L.L.C. (MLS), announced today that Young the Giant and Grammy® Award-winning artist Ozomatli will host a free, live concert in Los Angeles to usher in MLS Cup 2011. As a sponsor of MLS Cup, AT&T will also be providing fans exclusive access to Alexi Lalas, former MLS All-Star and U.S. National team standout, as well as current MLS players through on-site activation and exclusive online and mobile content.

"As the Official Communications Services Partner of Major League Soccer and the U.S. Men's and Women's National Soccer Teams, AT&T is proud to have a presence in Los Angeles at the 2011 MLS Cup," said Jason Simpson, Associate Vice President Events and Sponsorships. "We're happy to be able to better connect fans across the globe to the content they crave both from the season and from this monumental game. With the added fun of Young the Giant and Ozomatli playing before the game, we expect the buzz and excitement for the event to continue to grow."

At 4 p.m. PST on Sunday, Nov. 20, Young the Giant and Ozomatli will hit the stage for the MLS Cup 2011 Soccer Celebration Concert presented by AT&T, where they will play a short, free set for fans prior to match kickoff at The Home Depot Center. In addition to sharing the experience with on-site attendees, AT&T will stream the concert live through www.att.net/mls.

The concert is part of Soccer Celebration, a pre-game, interactive fan zone from 2:00pm –
6:00pm on Sunday, Nov. 20, during which fans can get players' autographs, have their photo taken with the 2011 Philip F. Anschutz trophy, awarded to the winner of MLS Cup 2011, and play soccer-themed games. Additionally, AT&T and Sony Ericsson will showcase the Xperia™ PLAY 4G handset, giving on-site attendees the chance to play the newest games and applications. Kickoff for MLS Cup 2011 will begin at 6:00 p.m. PST.

"AT&T continues to be an incredible strategic sponsor of Major League Soccer and the MLS Cup 2011 Soccer Celebration Concert is yet another great example of their proactive support," said David Wright, vice president, global sponsorship for Soccer United Marketing, MLS' commercial arm. "Enhanced by AT&T's involvement, MLS Cup 2011 contains all of the pieces to being a very special and memorable event for our passionate fans."

Major League Soccer continues its 10 days of public activities and special events leading up to MLS Cup 2011 by hosting the first Shot from the Top event in league history. Players and celebrities, including one member of the Los Angeles-native band Ozomatli, will attempt to score a goal from atop STAPLES Center's City View Terrace, some 80 feet above ground level, into a goal staged on Chick Hearn Court. The event will take place Thursday, November 17, at 2 p.m. PT. Media and fans are invited to watch the participants attempt to score from eight stories (80 feet) above ground level and take photos with the trophy and players immediately following the event.

In additional on-site fun for fans, the 2011 Philip F. Anschutz trophy, awarded to the winner of MLS Cup 2011, will be touring the LA area ahead of MLS Cup. As part of the MLS Cup Trophy Tour, fans have the opportunity to take photographs with the trophy at the Huntington Park AT&T store at 6833 Pacific Blvd. in Huntington Park. Fans also will have the chance to meet Dan Kennedy of Chivas USA today, Nov. 17, between 12:30 and 2 p.m. PST at the AT&T store at 6822 Pacific Blvd. in Huntington Park as well as Jamison Olave of Real Salt Lake on Sunday, Nov. 20 between 3 and 4:30 p.m. at the Home Depot Center Soccer Celebration.

In the spirit of continuing to provide fans with unique content that they can't get anywhere else, AT&T is offering fans across the country the chance to talk directly with soccer legend Alexi Lalas. Alexi Lalas, no stranger to the AT&T Twitter handle after taking it over during the 2011 AT&T MLS All-Star Game, will once again chat with AT&T and soccer fans through @ATT on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 12:00 p.m. PST.

Throughout the MLS season, AT&T offered fans the chance to have a say in the fates of their favorite players and teams. Fans could vote for the AT&T Goal of the Week and AT&T MLS Goal of the Year through online and SMS voting, submitting nearly 50,000 text votes from 9,000 unique users throughout the 2011 season. MLS fans could also check out monthly AT&T MLS Goals of the Month, AT&T Game of the Week and Inside U.S. Soccer programs exclusively through AT&T U-verse.

For more information on AT&T's sponsorship of MLS, please visit: http://fanzone.att.net.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest 3G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. AT&T offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse(SM) and AT&T | DIRECTV(SM) brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T's Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations are known for their leadership in directory publishing and advertising sales. In 2009, AT&T again ranked No. 1 in the telecommunications industry on FORTUNE® magazine's list of the World's Most Admired Companies.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com. This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATTNews. Find us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ATT to discover more about our consumer and wireless services or at www.facebook.com/ATTSmallBiz to discover more about our small business services.

© 2011 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. 3G service not available in all areas. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies.

About Major League Soccer

Headquartered in New York City, Major League Soccer is the top-flight professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. MLS features many stars from the U.S., Canada, and around the world. Major League Soccer's 16th season will feature 18 clubs each playing 34 regular season matches. Those clubs include Chicago Fire; Chivas USA; 2010 MLS Cup champion Colorado Rapids; Columbus Crew; D.C. United; FC Dallas; Houston Dynamo; LA Galaxy; New York Red Bulls; New England Revolution; Philadelphia Union; Real Salt Lake; San Jose Earthquakes; Seattle Sounders FC; Sporting Kansas City; Toronto FC; and, in their inaugural seasons, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps FC. An expansion team in Montreal will debut in 2012. For more information about MLS, log on to the League's official website at www.MLSsoccer.com.

SOURCE AT&T Inc.