Rhode Island FC: What to know about the state's new pro soccer team and how to buy tickets

PAWTUCKET − Pawtucket's fledgling professional soccer team doesn't have a stadium or players yet, but on Monday it got a logo, colors and a name: Rhode Island FC.

For those who haven't taken to the sport, the FC stands for "football club," as the game is known globally.

When the team takes the field, which its owners hope it will do in the summer of 2024, they'll play in uniforms featuring home colors of amber and navy blue.

The team crest, designed by Providence ad agency Nail, features an anchor with lightning bolts for flukes incorporated into an interlocking R.I. Its hexagonal shape is intended to look like the oncoming bow of a ship.

"For us this has always been about Rhode Island and capturing both the state's rich soccer history and the forward momentum the state has," Brett Johnson, co-founder of Fortuitous Partners and team chairman, said at a brand launch at the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center on Monday. "The amber you see in our crest and the lightning bolts represent the energy, the passion and the diversity of this state and our fans."

Johnson described Pawtucket as "one of the most active soccer hubs in North America" during the late 19th century when immigrants filled its textile mills. And it was home to the first Black professional soccer players in the country, Oliver and Fred Watson.

"This is why we call ourselves a football club, to honor the origins of the sport and its root in the community," Johnson said.

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Another possible reason Rhode Island is in the team name is that the state is contributing most of the $60-million public financing package that's helping to build a new stadium on the Seekonk River.

It's a political branding dynamic with echoes of the renaming of T.F. Green Airport as Rhode Island International Airport (It would eventually become Rhode Island T.F. Green International).

Why the team's name is Rhode Island FC

Imported from Europe, putting "FC" in the team name is now standard nomenclature for American soccer teams.

Rhode Island FC is one of four planned expansion franchises in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer. Of the 28 teams in the league, 15 have FC in their name.

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On the amateur level, Rhode Island is home to Providence City FC.

Talking to reporters after the unveiling, Johnson said it would be up to fans of the team to give the team a nickname.

"We'll let that come up organically," he said.

Where will the Rhode Island FC play?

The site of the 10,500-seat stadium the team plans to play in is located on a brownfield and former coal gas plant that was cleaned up by Rhode Island Energy and prepared by Fortuitous into the shape of a soccer pitch.

Johnson said vertical construction on the stadium should begin in the next two weeks and should be ready for "early summer 2024." Deposits for 2024 season tickets go on sale tomorrow at rhodeislandfc.com, he said.

The USL season typically starts in March, so the team could begin the 2024 season at a temporary home field before moving to the new stadium.

The stadium is designed to anchor a mixed-use development including apartments, shops, restaurants and other business bringing people to a quiet part of town.

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Johnson said Fortuitous is moving "at pace" on all the other pieces of the project – commercial and residential developments – but did not provide a timeline.

Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien said the city Redevelopment Authority plans to issue bonds to help pay for the stadium next month. He said the city has not made any new requests yet for help from the state to build the non-stadium components of the "Tidewater Landing" development.

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The brand launch took place less than a week after a general election in which stadium backer Gov. Dan McKee was reelected over stadium critic Ashley Kalus.

Was Johnson worried about a Kalus win?

"I'm very happy for Governor McKee. I think he deserved to be elected for another four years," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Pro soccer team Rhode Island FC: Tickets, logo, Pawtucket stadium