Atlanta Falcons president says team inching closer to Major League Soccer expansion franchise EXPANSION PROGRESS IN ATLANTA In one of the clearest indications yet that Atlanta could be next in line of a Major League Soccer expansion franchise, Atlanta Falcons President Rich McKay told local officials Thursday that his side is "far along in negotiations" with MLS about bringing a team to the city, the league's first foray into the Southeast outside of Florida in league history. The Falcons want a soccer team to play at a new $1.2 billion retractable-roof stadium that will break ground just south of the Georgia Dome sometime in the spring. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...says-team-inching-closer-major-league-soccer-
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution A Major League Soccer expansion franchise is coming to Atlanta. An announcement is scheduled for April 16 in Atlanta, a person with knowledge of the situation said Sunday. The Atlanta team would become the 22nd franchise in MLS and would open play in 2017, which is also when the new $1 billion downtown stadium is scheduled to open. Falcons owner Arthur Blank has been pursuing a franchise for several years. Both sides have acknowledged that they have been in deep discussions but neither seemed to have a timetable. A Major League Soccer official issued this statement on Sunday: “We are continuing discussions with Arthur Blank to bring a Major League Soccer expansion team to Atlanta; however, we have not finalized an agreement at this time.” http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/pro-sports/mls-is-coming-to-atlanta/nfSzm/
Why Terminus Legion? "Terminus" was the first name for the city of Atlanta. And there was also no other supporters group called "Legion," although Miami's Southern Legion launched around the same time. With the unique name comes a unique identity: Terminus Legion is bringing some old-fashioned southern hospitality to US supporters' culture. "One hundred percent positivity. http://terminuslegion.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ https://twitter.com/TerminusLegion http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...mls-supporters-group-atlantas-terminus-legion
MLS is headed to the ATL. Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber announced on Wednesday that Atlanta has been awarded the league’s 22nd team, the culmination of six years of courtship between the league and the one of the nation’s most diverse and influential markets. The expansion team – which will begin play in the 2017 season – will be owned by Arthur Blank, the co-founder of The Home Depot and the owner of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. A state-of-the-art retractable roof stadium in downtown Atlanta will house both the Falcons and the new MLS franchise, and is expected to host more than 29,000 fans for soccer matches upon its completion. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...r-names-atlanta-22nd-franchise-set-2017-debut
Charged with building a brand new club from scratch, Carlos Bocanegra and Darren Eales know exactly what they’ve gotten themselves into. The duo has been tasked with creating a team, an experience, a brand. But for the two, the process of building MLS Atlanta is about so much more; it’s about building a culture all their own. As the team’s president and technical director, respectively, Eales and Bocanegra face many choices ahead, everything from hiring a coach to selecting players to choosing what types of food to serve at the club’s inaugural match in 2017. For the pair, each and every one of those decision comes with consequences, but each is met head on with considerable enthusiasm. For Bocanegra, every decision made has an impact, one that can help institute something special, something new, in a city that the pair believes has all the makings of America’s next great soccer city. http://www.sbisoccer.com/2015/05/atlanta-plotting-success.html
MLS Expansion Draft Announced for Dec. 13 The Expansion Draft will be held on Tuesday, December 13 at 2 p.m. ET and consist of five rounds, allowing Atlanta and Minnesota to select up to five players each from the list of eligible MLS players. The 20 current MLS clubs will have the ability to protect 11 players from their rosters. These 11 protected players, in addition to Generation adidas players who do not graduate from the program at the end of the season and Homegrown Players on a club's Supplemental or Reserve roster, will not be eligible for selection in the Expansion Draft. All remaining MLS players will be available for selection by the two expansion clubs. Each MLS club may lose a maximum of one player in the Expansion Draft. Once a player is selected from a club's unprotected roster, that club is removed from the Expansion Draft process and may not lose any further players. For the full 2016 Expansion Draft Rules, http://pressbox.mlssoccer.com/content/2016-expansion-draft-rules-and-regulations
The Faction is a recently launched Atlanta United FC support group. Courtesy of Kevin Kinley Atlanta’s major league soccer team won’t play its first game for another seven months but it already has at least four support groups.
It’s been common knowledge that Mercedes-Benz Stadium wasn’t going to be completed by the time the 2017 MLS season begins in March. That obviously was a tricky situation for Atlanta United, as it raised the question of where they’d play their home matches (or how they’d handle home matches) in the interim. That’s been resolved now with the club coming to an agreement to play at Bobby Dodd Stadium until Mercedes-Benz Stadium is ready. http://www.dirtysouthsoccer.com/201...obby-dodd-stadium-mercedes-benz-stadium-delay
Real Salt Lake 1, Atlanta United FC 3 Atlanta United's speed prevailed over Real Sal Lake's resurgence Saturday night, as defensive pressure was enough to earn them a 3-1 victory on the road. The loss was RSL's first under new head coach Mike Petke, while Atlanta picked up their first win since back-to-back multi-goal victories in March. Read more http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2017-04-22-real-salt-lake-vs-atlanta-united-fc/recap
Atlanta United FC 4, Houston Dynamo 1 Two storms hit Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday. The first delayed the match nearly an hour. The second was Atlanta United knocking over the Houston Dynamo 4-1 before another sold-out crowd of over 40,000. read more https://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2017-05-20-atlanta-united-fc-vs-houston-dynamo/recap