After thousands of votes and plenty of deliberation among the city’s soccer fans, the name of Atlanta’s professional soccer team will remain the Silverbacks. The Silverbacks name received the most votes during the club’s recent “Decision 2012” campaign, with the verdict being announced Thursday night in front of a packed house at the Hard Rock Café in downtown Atlanta.

“While the results ended up being very close, the fans have voted in favor of the Silverbacks,” said Silverbacks General Manager Andy Smith. “That’s really what this campaign was all about – getting the community involved and giving them the power to choose the direction of our professional team. The fans are the ones that keep us going, so allowing them to take part in such a big decision was really important to us.”

The campaign lasted for nearly two months, and it included three other voting options besides the Silverbacks name. Fans could vote for the Atlanta Chiefs, the name of the city’s first ever professional soccer team, Atlanta FC, a more European-style name, or they could write in a name of their own choosing.

The Hard Rock Café in downtown was packed with fans, sponsors, and media – many of whom placed their votes at some point during the campaign. Former U.S. Men’s National Team star and current Silverbacks Team Advisor Eric Wynalda served as the emcee, setting up the name announcement, which came from Chairman Boris Jerkunica.

Jerkunica also introduced the club’s next offseason initiative, a logo design contest. Going along with the fan-friendly theme of the offseason, the club will accept logo design entries from fans over the course of the next two weeks. The entries will be posted on the club’s Facebook page (facebook.com/atlantasilverbacks), and at the end of the two-week period, the logo with the most “likes” will move on to a final round.

In the final round, the most popular fan logo will be pitted against the team’s current logo and a logo that the club will have designed in the coming weeks. Full contest rules and details will be posted to the club’s website, atlantasilverbacks.com, by noon on Friday.

Following up an impressive run on the field at the tail end of the 2012 NASL season, the Silverbacks are experiencing success off the field as well. The club is already very close to reaching last year’s season ticket and sponsorship totals, meaning the Silverbacks are off to an encouraging start as they prepare for the 2013 season. 

Season tickets for 2013 are currently on sale, and can be purchased through the box office at 404-969-4900 or tickets@atlantasilverbacks.com.