In 2024, MLS club Seattle Sounders will celebrate their 50th anniversary. And the club have big plans for that.
Seattle Sounders exist since 1974. The current MLS team (launched in 2007) are a phoenix club, carrying the same name as the original franchise that competed in the North American Soccer League from 1974 to 1983.
Seattle Sounders FC Unveil Plans for New Training Facility to Open in 2024
Seattle Sounders FC unveiled plans to construct a new club headquarters that would open in 2024 for the club’s 50th anniversary.
Seattle Sounders to "Review" Visual Identity & Club Crest
Seattle Sounders also announced that for them, the next 50 years start today. And for that, a fan outreach is taking place to "explore the club’s brand identity with the next 50 years in mind".
“From our club’s perspective, the next 50 years of Sounders history start right now,” said Sounders FC Owner & President of Business Operations Peter Tomozawa. "Our new home at Longacres gives us a generational opportunity to not only invest in the organization by developing the most advanced facilities for our players and operations, but also to deepen our roots and engage with the community in meaningful and new ways."
The rebrand could vary from very minor changes to a complete overhaul
"Part of that process includes a thoughtful discussion around our brand identity. Our club is and always will be what our fans say it is. That’s a core part of our club culture and is something we want to emphasize during this process. Fan input is critical to understanding who we are and what we stand for. As we take stock of those conversations, we believe this kind of dialogue will better inform all aspects of Sounders FC. This includes everything from how we represent our community to the team’s physical visual identity, including our marks and club crest."
Sounders chief revenue and marketing officer Taylor Graham will work with three independent design firms to review the club’s visual identity.
- DNA, a creative agency based in Seattle
- Column, a design studio also based in Seattle
- Athletics, a New York City-based creative studio that also worked on Nashville SC’s launch and MLS’s league logo redesign
The rebranded Seattle Sounder "could vary from very minor changes to a complete overhaul", Taylor Graham detailed to Seattle soccer fan site Sounder at Heart.
“This is a chance to embrace the past and storytell about what makes this club so unique for so many decades, but also codify that into our brand identity into ways that were not when we launched into Major League Soccer,” Graham told Sounder at Heart. “It was before we knew who we were. We now have a lot of years and amazing successes to evolve this.
“But this is not the club doing this; it will be driven by our fanbase and our community. This is a dialogue, this is an openness and a conversation, but we feel it’s the right one especially to have some uncomfortable conversations about our brand identity and specifically our visual brand identity.”
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