Severe thunderstorms that rolled across the metroplex Wednesday evening sent fans scrambling for cover at a major league soccer match in Frisco and left two people at the stadium injured.
A crowd of diehard fans showed up at the Toyota Stadium for $1 hotdog night and the 7:30 p.m. match between FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids. However, before the game could even begin, stadium officials announced over the PA system that the match was delayed due to lightning in the area. Fans were advised to take cover in the concourse area.
The lightning was soon followed by strong winds and heavy rain. Video taken at the scene during the game delay shows debris and rain blowing through the stadium.
The Frisco Fire Department reported that two persons attending the match were injured during the storm event and were treated at the scene. Frisco police said an 8-year-old child was taken to an area hospital but was expected to be okay, Fox 4 News reported.
A second individual, Colton Stephens, told Fox 4 that he was injured by flying debris. He said the giant letter O from the Toyota Stadium sign on the north concourse blew across the stadium, striking him in the shoulder. He sustained a cut and some bruising due to the impact.
“I was standing in front of three kids, so it’s better it hit me than them,” he told Fox 4.
Stephens later posted on social media platform X that the debris that hit him “[h]ad to have been going 40 MPH. It hurt so bad. It’s gonna hurt even worse tomorrow. That bump hurts a lot worse than it looks.”
The rain continued over the stadium for quite some time, eventually causing flooding on some portions of the playing field. About three hours after the announced lightning delay, FC Dallas officials announced the game was postponed.
Some fans were critical of the way the situation was handled.
“Bad judgment to not determine and communicate the game was being postponed before Gail [sic] force winds and over an hour and a half of lightning. Fans were put at risk. Disappointed,” X user Charlcye Milan (@housebuyingdiva) wrote.
User Mohammad (@mohammsaleems) posted, “FC Dallas with terrible communications let’s [sic] everyone sit in the stadium until the second the freak storm hits — it’s been 2 hours and it’s still radio silence from them.”
A new date for the match has not yet been determined, but FC Dallas says it will honor the ticket stubs from Wednesday’s match for entrance to the rescheduled game.