Philadelphia Union announced the name, logo, and colors for their Lehigh Valley USL franchise on Tuesday morning at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.
To the surprise of no one, the team’s name is Bethlehem Steel FC.
The name of the team was put up to a fan vote shortly after the club announced the launch of its USL sister club on August 19.
A press release from the Union noted today, “After thousands of fans submitted their votes and suggested their original ideas, Bethlehem Steel FC proved a clear winner with 80 percent of the votes.”
The team’s colors will, like the Union’s, be navy blue and gold, along with red to evoke the Bethlehem Steel company. (The original Bethlehem Steel team’s jerseys were royal blue and navy blue, although the team used a red jersey at least once in 1915 and also in 1921 when the team played in Philadelphia as Philadelphia FC for the inaugural season of the American Soccer League.)
Union owner Jay Sugarman said in a statement, “We are thrilled by the strong fan interest in determining the name of our new USL team. We continue to believe in the deep history of this sport in our region and this is a tremendous way to pay homage to the past, while also reflecting the important role of the club in the Union family. Bethlehem Steel FC is the final piece of player development that creates a clear path to first team.”
The new logo incorporates elements of the iconic Bethlehem Steel Company logo (which was trademarked in 1937, seven years after the demise of the original Bethlehem Steel FC team in 1930) with the Gadsen flag-inspired snake that appears on the Union crest.
“The history expressed in the crest and colors come as a result of thoughtful deliberation and planning,” Union Chief Revenue Officer and Executive Vice President Dave Rowan said in a statement. “We believe that the logo, colors and name respectfully pay tribute to the original Bethlehem Steel Soccer Club, while also reflecting the modern influences that the Union provide.”
Bethlehem Steel will begin play in 2016 at Lehigh University’s Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem.
Click on the following links for videos with more on the team name and logo.
The Snake and Beam.
I’d drink in that bar.
Next one is on me. And keep em coming.
Agreed!
I’m actually digging this logo more than the Union’s crest.
Yup. The red accent does it.
So that’s 3 wins in a row…in 3 days…home season ending win, Stewart hiring.. Win…,USL club Bethlehem Steel FC,WIN! Wow have they got the off season going in the right direction! Keep it going ….Come on the U!!!
Plus sacking Sak early this month. What an October!
Amen Brother Amen! Things are about to turn around.
Well played sir. Well played.
Great start to the offseason! Firing Sak, hiring Stewart and now Bethlehem Steel FC with a pretty cool logo. Really interested to see how they fill this team out.
Let the dominoes keep falling in the right direction.
Really nice job with the colors and logo. Everything’s coming up Union lately!!
Look it was always going to be Bethlehem steel. If it wasn’t a given from the onset the choices given made it so no sane person could vote otherwise.
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The whole vote was just a sham to get email addresses for direct marketing.
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CURSE YOU FRONT OFFICE!!!!!
Well, that’s the nature of the business.
Now keep the Bimbo logo off the jersey please!!!
I’m hoping for Just Born, Bethlehem-based makers of Peeps, Mike and Ike’s and other fine confections
Mike and Ike. 4th meal.
Crayola is based in the Lehigh Valley as well. That would also be cool. Unfortunately, it will probably some health system or something boring like that
when are tryouts?