SEAT Monthly Series : The Phoenix Rising
A new logo would help define and lend personality to the new team, so it was the vital first component of the re-branding process.
RIESTER designed a crest to represent tradition, service, community, unity and of course, soccer. The crest offers the team name while showing the team rising to new heights.
In Greek mythology, a phoenix is a long-lived bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn. It is also associated with the sun, obtaining a new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor.
In the Phoenix Rising FC logo the Phoenix transforms, or is being “reborn,” into a soccer ball. The colors: gold epitomizes Arizona, black shows strength, red represents fire, victory and passion, white is integrity and gray conveys control, all of which exemplify the team.
The crest offers the team name while showing the team rising to new heights. In Greek mythology, a phoenix is a long-lived bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn. It is also associated with the sun, obtaining a new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. In the Phoenix Rising FC logo the Phoenix transforms, or is being “reborn,” into a soccer ball. The colors: gold epitomizes Arizona, black shows strength, red represents fire, victory and passion, white is integrity and gray conveys control, all of which exemplify the team
Building a New, Soccer-Specific Stadium for Season Opener
With the new brand in development, the next task was to simultaneously work on getting a plan in place to construct a soccer-specific stadium and training facilities to serve as the permanent home of the Phoenix Rising FC.
Securing a site for a dedicated stadium would be key to building a loyal and committed fan base in Phoenix. While the former team, Arizona United, had success playing at the Scottsdale Municipal Stadium, they were unable to play games during the best weather months of the season due to Major League Baseball occupying the stadium during spring training and for the Cactus League.
Bakay, Johnson, co-owner and real estate expert Mark Detmer, and Phoenix Rising FC’s Chief Operating Officer, Bobby Dulle, researched every available land parcel in Maricopa County that could accommodate a soccer-specific stadium and training facilities.
They quickly determined that the best possible real estate also came with the best possible development partners – the Solanna Group within the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Solanna offered a new home for Phoenix Rising FC within the Salt River Community at the northeast corner of McClintock and the 202 Freeway in south Scottsdale.
“We wanted to establish stability for the team,” says Dulle. “We set our sights on finding a space accessible from all parts of the valley, within our target demographic and somewhere we could grow. It was also very appealing to have the nation’s largest public university, Arizona State University – with 91,000 enrolled students, less than one mile south of our new stadium site.”