JACKSONVILLE’S
NEW PRO SOCCER TEAM ANNOUNCES JACKSONVILLE ARMADA FC AS CLUB NAME
Team reveals
colors and logo inspired by city’s Spanish heritage and military ties
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – February 18, 2014 –The Jacksonville Armada FC has arrived! First Coast
sports fans got a new professional soccer team to support today, with the
announcement that the city’s North American Soccer League (NASL) expansion team
will be named Jacksonville Armada FC, in a nod to the region’s rich Spanish
heritage and strong military connection.
The team name was selected following a fan
competition and survey that invited soccer fans across the region to provide
suggestions for the new team’s name. Of the more than 1,500 responses, Armada
FC was one of the most popular, closely aligning with the new soccer club’s
vision of building a passionate, determined and progressive organization.
Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown, City Council
President Bill Gulliford, Jacksonville Chamber President Daniel Davis and NASL
Commissioner Bill Peterson joined with team executives in a press conference in
front of media and fans at the Jacksonville Landing to unveil the club’s new
name and logo.
“We love sports in Jacksonville, and we are excited
to welcome our newest professional sports team,” said Mayor Alvin
Brown. “Soccer is a great family-friendly game and it has a growing base
of fans. We want everyone to know that Jacksonville is soccer territory.”
The fan vote also selected the soccer club’s colors
– navy blue, royal blue, gold and white – which also reflect
Jacksonville’s close links to the area’s U.S. Navy and other military
installations. The colors form the foundation of the club’s new logo, which
includes a powerful ship’s anchor and the team’s name displayed across a unique
angular shield.
Club owner Mark Frisch said that fans were
instrumental in providing the inspiration for the team name and that connecting
with fans and the community is vital to Jacksonville Armada FC.
“From day one, we committed to make this club the
fans’ team, the community’s team, Jacksonville’s team,” said Frisch. “We are
honored and proud to reflect the suggestions of our fans in our team name and
logo while aligning with the history and tradition of this region.”
“Naming our team Jacksonville Armada FC perfectly
reflects our hard-working, passionate, determined and progressive community
here on the First Coast,” said Steve Livingstone, team president. “We are
greatly looking forward to kicking off play and fully engaging and growing with
everyone in the First Coast community.”
“Our club motto is Ex Pertinacia Victoria,
which roughly translates to victory through determination,” said Dario Sala,
general manager for the team. “It is that determination that will create a
winning tradition for the Armada FC and make our city and our region proud.”
Following the much-anticipated unveiling, which
comes six months after the NASL awarded the team to Jacksonville, Council
President Bill Gulliford joined Frisch, Livingstone and Sala in “christening”
the team’s distinctive logo with a traditional champagne launch. Gulliford said
that Jacksonville Armada FC will represent the city and region with pride on
and off the soccer field.
“I am proud to welcome Jacksonville Armada FC to
our city,” said Gulliford. “The team will not only expand the ever-growing
roster of professional sports teams calling Jacksonville home, but will also
attract new visitors to the area and grow our city’s reputation for hosting
world-class sports and entertainment events.”
Jacksonville Chamber President Daniel Davis
commended team executives for bringing a new era of professional soccer to
Jacksonville, emphasizing the role of sports in complementing business growth
efforts.
“The business of sports has become an important
part of our community, greatly impacting our culture, economy, development and
identity,” said Davis. “Armada FC makes Jacksonville a player in a global game,
offering significant opportunity for the city to further grow its footprint on
a national and international level.”
Bill Peterson, commissioner for the NASL, welcomed Jacksonville Armada FC to the league family and said he
looks forward to them joining competitive play in 2015.
“The NASL is the fastest-growing professional
soccer league in the world and truly has a global perspective,” said Peterson.
“We know there is an exceptional interest in soccer on the First Coast and
Jacksonville Armada FC will provide a strong addition to our league.”
The NASL kicks off its 2014 season in April with ten
teams competing including the New York Cosmos, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Fort
Lauderdale Strikers and Atlanta Silverbacks. Jacksonville Armada FC will enter
the league in spring 2015 alongside Virginia Cavalry F.C. and Oklahoma City.
Fans can register for Armada FC 2015 season tickets
at the club’s new website at ArmadaFC.com. More information on the NASL is
available at www.nasl.com. (A full press kit including the new logo and style guide is
available upon request).
Notes
The Spanish Armada, known also as the Armada
Invencible, or Invincible Fleet, was the largest navy fleet assembled in
its day in 1588. It was made up of 130 ships fitted with 2,500 guns. They
carried 30,000 soldiers and sailors. The First Coast was the first part of
Florida to be colonized by Europeans, predominantly from Spain. Juan Ponce
de León landed in the region during his first expedition in 1513, and the
early French colony of Fort Caroline was established in present-day
Jacksonville in 1563 and later taken over by the Spanish in 1565.
Significantly, the First Coast includes St. Augustine, the oldest continuously
inhabited European-established city in the continental U.S., founded in 1565 by
the Spanish. Aided by the Spanish Navy, the areas in and around Jacksonville
were further colonized by the Spanish until 1763 when it came under British
control prior to U.S. Independence in 1776.
The United States Navy is interwoven into the
fabric of life on the First Coast and is a major employer for the region with
over 60,000 active duty personnel and civilians employed between Naval Station
Mayport, Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS JAX) and the nearby Naval
Submarine Base Kings Bay, in Georgia.
A local armada of 19 U.S. Navy vessels, including
six frigates, four cruisers and four destroyers, currently call U.S. Naval
Station Mayport their home base, including the DDG-80 Arleigh Burke
class destroyer U.S.S. Roosevelt. The U.S. Navy Fourth Fleet is
headquartered at Mayport and is responsible for U.S. Navy ships, aircraft and
submarines operating in the Caribbean, and Atlantic and Pacific Oceans around
Central and South America
Jacksonville is also home to Naval Air Station
Jacksonville (NAS JAX) on the St. John’s River, the largest Navy Station in the
Southeast, which supports United States, NATO, and allied forces worldwide.
Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is located just north of Jacksonville in St.
Mary’s in Camden County, Georgia. The Submarine Base is the U.S. Atlantic
Fleet's home port for U.S. Navy Fleet ballistic missile nuclear submarines.
The U.S. Navy carriers the distinction of having
the greatest modern-day armada in the Seventh Fleet, which currently, is
the largest of the forward-deployed U.S. fleets, with up to 70 ships, 300
aircraft and 40,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel.
About the NASL
The North
American Soccer League is a professional soccer league established in the
United States and Canada. The NASL member teams are: Atlanta Silverbacks,
Carolina RailHawks, FC Edmonton, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Indy Eleven,
Minnesota United FC, New York Cosmos, Ottawa Fury FC, San Antonio Scorpions FC
and Tampa Bay Rowdies. Virginia Cavalry FC and clubs in Jacksonville and
Oklahoma City will commence play in 2015. For more information about the
NASL, visit www.NASL.com. Follow the NASL on Twitter @NASLOfficial and Facebook at www.Facebook.com/NASLfans.
Courtesy of:
Steven Torres
Public Relations
Coordinator
North American Soccer
League
Phone: +1/646-785-1155
