Atlanta United FC officially unveil name, logo

2,000 supporters - and Ludacris - packed Westside’s SOHO Lounge for kickoff event

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? Atlanta United FC leaders celebrated the official unveiling of the Major League soccer team’s name and logo last night in the Westside with thousands of hardcore supporters donning red-and-black scarves .
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? Soccer fans in attendance — a fraction of the 21,000 people who have already signed up to purchase season tickets — sipped on beer, gobbled up tacos, and hobnobbed in the packed-to-capacity SOHO Lounge, the former home of Compound.
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? The event puts “MLS Atlanta,” the vague placeholder that’s been used since the expansion was announced last year, to rest, and ushers in the next chapter of the team. The first game is scheduled to take place in 2017 and AUFC will share the $1.2 billion Atlanta Falcons stadium that’s currently under construction.  
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? The team’s name was revealed weeks ago by SI’s Brian Straus (AUFC Owner Arthur Blank joked about the leak). The Home Depot co-founder and Atlanta Falcons owner said officials had settled on the name, despite a fan survey listing other top choices, because of metro Atlanta’s status as a transportation hub and home to people from all backgrounds.
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? “This is a very diverse city,” Blank told the crowd. “We wanted to be sure that was represented in the name.” 
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? That turned last night’s focus more on the logo — essentially an A inside a circle with red, black, and gold stripes — that will represent the team on jerseys, merchandise, and broadcasts. According to Team President Darren Eales, the circle in the logo represents “unity” and the world, and evokes Atlanta’s role in the globe and as a center of transportation. The colors — red, black, and gold — symbolize passion, power, and value, respectively.
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? “The stripes on the background are the blend of new and old,” Eales said. “The great teams in the world — AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona — they all have stripes. At the moment in MLS there are no teams that will play in stripes. We hope people see this logo as a fusion between traditional and modern.?

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