Dallas Stars, Dallas Mavericks And The American Airlines Center Announce Multi-Year Partnership With Pizza Hut®

PLANO, Texas, Oct. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dallas Stars, Dallas Mavericks and American Airlines Center announced today a multi-year agreement with Pizza Hut, designating the world's largest pizza company as the Official Pizza Partner of all three properties.

As part of its partnership, Plano, Texas-based Pizza Hut will have use of team and arena trademarks across various marketing channels, including branded content, advertising and promotional materials. In addition to the marketing rights, Pizza Hut will have six in-arena concession stands within American Airlines Center, with four located on the plaza level and two on the terrace level. The stands will debut a premium 9-inch Hand-Tossed Pizza, available in cheese, pepperoni or sausage, as well as classic breadsticks and an Ultimate Hershey's® Chocolate Chip Cookie.

"Cultivating strong partnerships with North Texas-based companies has always been a top priority of the Dallas Stars business strategy," Dallas Stars Owner Tom Gaglardi said. "We are excited to bring a locally-based brand like Pizza Hut to American Airlines Center that we know that will provide our fans with a quality product. For almost 60 years, Pizza Hut has been one of the most recognizable and successful restaurant franchises around the world and we look forward to working with them for many seasons to come."

"Pizza Hut is one of the most beloved brands in the world and to have them with us as our official pizza partner is very exciting and something we cannot wait to share with our fans," Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said. "We pride ourselves on not just finding any partner, but the right partner. Pizza Hut, being based here in the DFW metroplex, is absolutely the right partner for us and our loyal fan base."

The American Airlines Center is a world-class facility which hosts approximately 200 events each year, including hockey and basketball games, making it a premier property to connect with fans and showcase the Pizza Hut brand. Beginning with the 2015-16 season, Pizza Hut will have promotions surrounding Dallas Stars and Dallas Mavericks games, including unique offers tied to team performance, opportunities to interact with players and exciting in-game entertainment.

"Being actively involved in our local community is very important to all of us at Pizza Hut and this partnership with the Dallas Stars, Dallas Mavericks and the American Airlines Center will provide us the opportunity to do that in a meaningful way," Pizza Hut CEO David Gibbs said. "Not only will we be present during many exciting moments happening inside the arena, but we fully intend to leverage this partnership to give back locally."

Each team will also partake in co-branded opportunities with Pizza Hut, ranging from sampling opportunities, to player appearances, to special in-game experiences - all while creating exclusive and flavorful moments for fans. Both Stars and Mavericks alumni and executives will provide philanthropic support for the Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Program, the longest-running corporate-sponsored children's literacy program in the United States, which has been inspiring a love of reading among young people for more than 30 years.

About Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), delivers more pizza, pasta and wings than any other restaurant in the world. The company began 57 years ago in Wichita, Kansas, when two brothers borrowed $600 from their mom to start a pizzeria.

What started out small has become the biggest pizza company in the world and today operates more than 15,600 restaurants in more than 90 countries serving innovative pizzas, traditional favorites like the signature Pan Pizza, and much more. Pizza Hut also is the proprietor of the BOOK IT! Program, which is a long-standing children's literacy program used in more than 630,000 classrooms nationwide.

CONTACT: Doug Terfehr, 972-338-6992, [email protected]

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SOURCE Pizza Hut