The stage was set Tuesday night as MLS Atlanta officially unveiled its team name, colors and logo. SOHO Lounge in midtown Atlanta was host to the launch event party which packed in over 4,000 fans to see a new era of Atlanta sports begin. Supporter groups such as the Terminus Legion, some of the most hardcore soccer fans in the nation, were loud and proud as Atlanta United FC released its logo.
Team owner Arthur Blank, who was the driving force behind returning soccer to Atlanta, took the stage to pounding drums and chants of “Uncle Arthur.” Blank assured the fans that Atlanta will be here to stay and will be a force to be reckoned with in 2017. “We are here for you,” Blank said. “This team is your team.”
“I promised three things: to put a winning team on the field, to provide a great match day experience for our fans and to entrench this club into the community. We’re on our way to fulfilling those promises and I look forward to sharing the excitement of building this club with our incredible supporters.”
Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber was also in attendance and was proud to see the strides the city has made in bringing a team to the forefront. “There is something special happening here in Atlanta,” stated Garber.
Team president Darren Eales explained the thought process behind the name Atlanta United FC. “The word ‘United’ has long been associated with the beautiful game around the world,” said Eales. “It has particular resonance for Atlanta, as a transport hub in the Southeast, as a multi-cultural, international city and as a club committed to community.”
Being a new franchise, Atlanta has the opportunity of creating its history from scratch. “The most exciting part of tonight’s celebration is that the Atlanta United story has yet to be written,” explained Eales. “Our fans have already proven to be some of the most passionate I’ve seen and we look forward to engaging them in shaping many elements of our club identity still to come.”
As Eales finished his addressing of the crowd, a two-minute video was shown behind him which slowly and tantalizingly revealed the colors and logo of Atlanta United, explaining what each part of the logo meant and its significance. By the end of it, a bold new logo with a golden A entrenched inside a circular crest with red and black vertical stripes behind it sent the fans into a frenzy. Smoke machines started firing off, confetti and streamers shot through the air and the curtains dropped, revealing the new logo on stage. The party had officially started.
Technical Director Carlos Bocanegra took the stage and promised the fans, “We’re going to try to be one of the best academies in the world.” The night concluded with the unfurling of Atlanta United’s first ever tifo, a large banner which fans bring to games and hold up, covering hundreds of fans at a time.
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