Night Out of soccer

United Night Out relay participants last year. (Photo courtesy of the Federal Triangles)

On Sept. 21, the Federal Triangles Soccer Club, in partnership with D.C. United will host the second annual United Night Out at RFK Stadium as the D.C. United take on Chivas USA at 7:30 p.m. This will be the fourth Night Out of the season sponsored by Team D.C., following on the heels of events with the Nationals, the Kastles and the Mystics.

Tickets are $25 (regularly $32) and ticket holders will have access to the Champion’s Club beginning at 6 p.m. throughout the game. Reserved seating will be in sections 201, 202, 203, 301, 302 and 303. There will be a pre-game performance by the D.C. Different Drummers and the national anthem will be sung by local gay crooner Peter Fox. At halftime, there will be a relay race pitting local LGBT sports teams against each other.

D.C. United has generously offered to donate a portion of each ticket to D.C. based non-profit, Food & Friends, whose mission is to foster a community caring for men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses by preparing and delivering specialized meals and groceries in conjunction with nutrition counseling.

Families are encouraged to be a part of the event. Children can be signed up to participate in the D.C. United High-Five Tunnel.  The kids will get exclusive access to watch part of the warm-ups from field level, and then high-five the starters as they come through the tunnel for introductions. Contact D.C. United representative Brad Snook at 202-587-5494 to book your kid’s spot.

D.C. United has a long history of supporting the LGBT community.  Its members were early and avid supporters of the Federal Triangles Soccer Club when they hosted the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association World Championships in 1997, and then again when the Triangles hosted the championships in 2009.

This month, D.C. United will release an “It Gets Better” video to become the first Major League Soccer team to participate in the campaign. Brad Snook, D.C. United representative, says the players are proud to lend support to the anti-bullying campaign founded by Dan Savage. Its tagline “win championships, serve the community” rings true in such endeavors.

Group participation levels for United Night Out are:

Team Captain (10 tickets) — name on website and one raffle entry to win a jersey.

Supporters’ Club (25 tickets) — live link on the website, recognition on the stadium scoreboard during the match, two raffle tickets to win a jersey.

Community Partners (50 tickets) — two tickets to Food & Friends’ 22nd annual Chef’s Best dinner and auction (a $500 value), logo and link on the website, recognition on the stadium scoreboard during the match, five raffle tickets to win a jersey.

Tickets can be purchased at Nellies Sports Bar and the HRC Clothing Store. Online purchases are available at unitednightout.com.