North American Premier League

[WideRight]

Decided that I was having too much fun on the NASL project using the PES KitCreator, so a new soccer project. 

 

In the Mid-1980's, after the folding of the NASL, a new league starts up, the American Soccer League.  It struggles at first, but in the mid 1990's it gets a major investment from the EPL, who decide to use the league as a spin-off of the Premier League to boost their own global footprint.  The league is renamed the North American Premier League (with both US and Canadian Teams).  Some teams build direct ties to EPL clubs, but most receive support from the EPL general fund.  

 

By the 2000's the NAPL has major TV contracts, with veteran EPL players finishing their careers in the USA or Canada, and also serves as a major talent development pool for players from the Americas, Asia and Africa.  

 

This series will introduce the teams of the NAPL, with logos and uniforms.  There are a few rules here:

 

1. No NASL, MLS, or USL names will be used.  All original names. 

2. No city names will be used.  Each club will have a name based on a city's nickname, a famous neighborhood or district, or some unique aspect of the city.  The name will be clear to those who live in the city, but we won't see the city name in the identity. 

 

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS ON TEAM NAMES FOR ANY CITY YOU THINK SHOULD BE INCLUDED (Top 50 markets only). 

 

Here is the league logo to get us started.

 

[WideRight]

And the first NAPL team is:

 

Golden Gate FC

Stadium: Kezar Stadium (Upgraded to 18,500 in 2007)

Sponsor: Lyft

Colors: Golden Orange, Tawny Orange, Black

EPL Affiliate: Hull City (Former), Working on affiliation with Tottenham but not yet official. 

 

[NoE38_Concepts]

Great start to this. Really liking the logo-inspired sash.

 

If you do an Ottawa team, I would suggest something like Bytown Rovers/Wanderers (Bytown is an old name for the city, and an old-fashioned name would fit that theme well)

[Sebastianm]

You planning on a Boston team? Massacre is a good idea for a name!

[chestnutz]

Looove that big G in the badge. Great start and I really dig the colors. Since you're taking suggestions, for my city Austin....Weird FC? Okay maybe too weird. Violet Crown City? Could be cool with sunset colors and some bats. Anyways can't wait to see more!

[WideRight]

And a second West Coast squad for today.

 

Emerald City FC

Stadium:Centurylink Field

Sponsor: Starbucks

Colors: Pine Green, Emerald Green, Spring Green

EPL Affliate: None  (Had an affiliation with Birmingham City until 2010) 

 

 

[jbird669]

Wow, what a start! Two great logos and uni combos. 

[sky1324]

Interesting! Both Golden Gate and Emerald City look great, I really like the sash on the GGFC home. I've got a few suggestions for Charlotte (of course) that I think would be fun. Obviously Queen City FC is a nice choice, but I'd like to go a little deeper and give you a few more options: 

• Mint City Greenbacks - Charlotte has a very little-used nickname of "Mint City" due to our former National Mint that was turned into the Mint Museum. Greenbacks would reference both the money that was made (though technically only coins were produced at the Charlotte mint) as well as the banking industry that made Charlotte what it is today.
• Uptown Highlanders FC - Charlotte's "downtown" is called Uptown (by law, by the way) because the city was built on a small hill, so when you headed into Charlotte, you were actually going up, hence the name of Uptown. Highlanders is a traditional name that could lend itself to some unique designs that also ties into the city's name.
• NoDa FC - Nicknamed "The Brewers", NoDA (short for North Davidson) is a neighborhood of Charlotte that's known for the NoDa Brewery, Charlotte's most popular craft brewery. This could tap (heh) into some cool brewing imagery.

As for a jersey sponsor, Bank of America is the obvious choice, but maybe something like Lowe's, Bojangles, or Duke Energy if you don't want to do BoA. Keep up the great work!

[Brian in Boston]

Oh, this is looking good. 

 

[GeauxColonels]

Good start. I, too, really like the large “G” on the Golden Gate badge. Am I the only one that feels like the bridge element to the badge seems completely disconnected from the rest of the logo though? If just seems placed above the crest rather than being incorporated as part of the crest.

[WarriorFight]

For Boston, there are two potential names I would add if you are open. Hub City FC (From "Hub of the World," referencing Boston as being the hub of the world), or even just Boston City FC or SC, whatever.  Harbor City FC too. 

[WideRight]

I have picked my 24 cities, and will go region by region, since I already started out West.  Here are the cities, keep those great name ideas coming.  Some may be used, others may not.  

The league does not have divisions, but for the sake of organizing my teams, this is what I chose:

 

West:  San Francisco, Seattle. Vancouver, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver

Central: Dallas, Houston, St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Twin Cities

South: Atlanta, Tampa, Miami, Charlotte, DC, Baltimore

East: Toronto, Montreal, Boston, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia

 

Tomorrow, two more western teams are revealed. 

[THEANGEL&THEGAMBLER]

Houston:

Bayou City FC

Space City United

 

Dallas:

Lonestar FC

Pegasus City

[Matthew24]

Houston: Apollo United FC
Dallas: Lone Star United

Montreal: Montreal Rouges FC

New York: Five Burrows SC

Philadelphia: Philadelphia Liberty FC

 

Those are some I have come up with. Hopes it helps you out. I'm loving this series.

[sportsfan7]

Dallas- Metroplex FC, DFW United FC

Minnesota- Twin Cities United FC, Twin Cities 10,000 FC, Land o' Lakes FC

Chicago- Chicago Rhythm, Windy City FC

Houston- Apollo FC

Denver- Mile High FC

Tampa- Ybor City FC

DC- Washington City FC, Georgetown City FC, Columbia City FC, Potomac FC, Capitol FC

Baltimore- Baltimore Lords FC, Lord Baltimore FC

Toronto- Golden Horseshoe FC

New York- Nieuw Amsterdam FC, Fiveboro United FC, Gotham City FC, Empire City FC

New Jersey- Jersey United FC, FC Jersey

[qckgnc]

Club Los Angeles (LA nightlife and similar to some Liga MX clubs)

Phoenix

Denver

Dallas Gauchos/Vaqueros

Houston 

St. Louis Olympians

Chicago Municipal 

Detroit Motor City FC

Twin Cities United/Blue Ox SC

Atlanta 

Tampa Bay Rowdies

Miami- Vice City FC

Charlotte/Mecklenburg/Carolina Colony FC (Hornets)

DC

Regal Baltimore

Toronto

Montreal

Boston 

New York Cosmos, Emperors, Empire City AFC/SC/FC

New Jersey Regulars (army term, based on Washington crossing the Delaware)

Philadelphia

[WideRight]

Lots of great name suggestions.  We shall see how many make it into the NAPL.  For now, here is our 3rd western team...

 

5280 COLORADO

Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park

Sponsor: Comcast Xfinity

Colors: Sky Blue & Medium Navy

EPL Affiliate: Manchester City

 

Originally dubbed "Mile High City" when the NAPL began, the team's identity morphed over time.  What began as a fan chant of "5-2-8-0 Co-lo-ra-do" became a secondary logo, then in 2008, the team, reshuffling after switching affiliation from Birmingham City to Man City, the team made it official, changing their name to the popular chant.  Many fans still refer to the team as Mile High City, and retro jerseys with the old name/logo are sold at the park, but for most Denver fans the shift to the popular nickname was hugely popular.  Fans often shorten the name to "The 80's", the "Mile Highs", or "Mile CO" as the 8 syllable full name can be a bit much. For those used to the metric system, a mile is 5280 feet, thus the 5280 representing the mile high city. 

 

 

The primary uniform, with its clear ties to Man City, is sky blue and white, with a navy chest stripe meant to represent the mile-high markers found throughout the city (most famously at Coors Field).  The clash uniform in 2020 is an homage to the city's first major league team, the NFL's Denver Broncos.  You cannot go wrong selling merch in Broncos colors, and the orange and navy kit has been a huge seller in the area.  

 

 

[WideRight]

FC VALLEY OF THE SUN

Stadium: Chase Field

Sponsor: Massage Envy

Colors: Solar Gold, Sunset Red, Dusk Purple

EPL Affliate: None

 

FC Valley of the Sun, often referred to as either "Valley" or "The Sunbirds", are still in the process of getting a soccer specific stadium built.  Sight lines at Chase Field are not great, but the ability to close the roof is appreciated when the midsummer heat arrives.  Sunset games are the norm for this club.  The team's logo uses a setting/rising sun as its primary feature. The colors combine the red and gold of Arizona State (the team's first home) with a purple borrowed from the NBA Suns.  The team has been without an EPL affliate since Fulham, their prior affliate, dropped out of the EPL in 2014.  Rumors have them looking to work out a deal with either Southampton or Newcastle United. 

 

The home kit for Valley has always featured a Solar Gold jersey, though in recent years the use of a fade pattern from red to gold has been prevelant.  This is usually paired with purple shorts and gold socks.  For the clash kit, purple usually dominates, though the team did sport a white kit for several years during the Fulham affiliation years.  The current clash kit uses the former Spain pattern on the jersey to add some gold and red highlights to the all-purple outfitting. 

 

 

[kb105]

For Atlanta I think a cool name is Terminus, the city’s original name with ties to the railroad industry. I also agree Ybor City is a good idea or Cigar city for Tampa.

[jwinters]

All the logos and kits look great so far! Here are some more team name ideas:

• LA: Tinsel Town FC
• St. Louis: Gateway FC
• Baltimore: Charm City Athletic
• Toronto: Hogtown FC
• New Jersey: Turnpike FC, Garden State FC