MLS welcomes Atlanta as expansion franchise

(Updated 6:13am) Major League Soccer is coming to Atlanta in 2017.

The league and franchise owner Arthur Blank made the official announcement on Wednesday afternoon (Thursday, PHL time) at a news conference in Atlanta attended by excited fans and several members of the NFL's Falcons.

The expansion team will begin play during the 2017 season in a new downtown stadium being built for the Falcons and the soccer club. The retractable-roof facility will be configured to hold 29,000 fans for soccer by closing off the upper deck and approximately 71,000 for football.

"We've been thinking for almost 10 years about expanding soccer to the Southeast," MLS commissioner Don Garber said. "It happens to be the largest market without an MLS team. It's very rich, very diverse. It's a market that's got a huge soccer history.

"And with Arthur Blank joining our ownership group, we are adding one of the most respected owners in professional sports. Arthur is deeply passionate about soccer and our quest to become one of the top professional soccer leagues in the world. We look forward to working with him and the entire Falcons organization on achieving this important goal."

Atlanta, which is currently the largest market in the United States without an MLS franchise, will become the 22nd team in MLS, which was founded in the mid-1990s. The team's name, logo and coaching and administrative staffs will be announced later.

"We felt the timing from every perspective - from a league perspective, form a club perspective, Atlanta's perspective - [that MLS] really fit," Blank said. "And so we couldn't be more excited. We think the timing is exactly right. We look forward to being the 22nd team in MLS and seeing the league continue to grow."

Soccer has drawn large crowds for international matches in Atlanta during the past few years. Among the enthusiastic crowd at Wednesday's announcement was Falcons defensive lineman Osi Umenyiora.

"Georgia is home to some of the most passionate sports fans in the country," Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said in a statement. "And no sport has grown in popularity during the last two decades as much as soccer. I expect game days for our new team in Atlanta to be colorful and festive events, with people from all over the state making the trip to the state capital to support the team."

MLS announced in the past year the addition of New York City FC and Orlando City SC to the league for the 2015 season. Miami, with former soccer star David Beckham as part of an ownership group, also is expected to be awarded a franchise that could begin play along with Atlanta during the 2017 season.

The league also is targeting the addition of a 24th team by the 2020 season. - Reuters