ATLANTA -- Arthur Blank donned traditional soccer garb to mark his newest venture -- an MLS team for Atlanta. Darius Miller Jersey . "I love this one," Blank said, looking down at the red, black and gold scarf draped over his dark suit. "I havent taken it off since it was given to me. I may not sleep in it tonight, but I may. I havent decided yet." Major League Soccer announced its latest team Wednesday, an expansion team for Atlanta that will begin play in 2017 at the citys new retractable roof stadium. The team will be owned by Blank, who also controls the NFLs Atlanta Falcons. He said it was the culmination of a process that started about a decade ago, when he first started talks with MLS about bringing a team to the city. The off-and-on discussions picked up again after Blank reached a deal with the city last year to build a new $1 billion downtown stadium next to the soon-to-be-demolished Georgia Dome. He is putting up most of the money, with the city kicking in $200 million from a hotel tax. "I think Atlanta is a natural fit for Major League Soccer," said Blank, who was serenaded by a burgeoning fan group that calls itself "Terminus Legion," a reference to the citys former name. The teams name has not been determined. Blank said he will get input from the fans before deciding on the new moniker, though he already knows the colours: red and black -- matching the Falcons -- with a substantial amount of gold as well. "What the name will be, we really dont know," he said. "We will spend a lot of time listening to our fans and trying to understand why some names are more important than others, why certain designs are more important than others, why certain logos are more important than others." One name that wont be considered: Atlanta Chiefs, the name of two previous teams that played in the old North American Soccer League. While the Chiefs won the first NASL championship in 1968, both versions struggled financially and eventually folded. MLS Commissioner Don Garber said there was no hesitation about putting a team in Atlanta once Blank worked out a stadium deal. It is the ninth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. and the biggest without a top-level soccer team. The city has a large Hispanic population and last month drew more than 68,000 fans to the Georgia Dome for a friendly between Mexico and Nigeria. "This is something that will help elevate our league," Garber said. "It will also elevate our sport in the entire Southeast, which is something that is very important to us strategically." The league went all out to tout its newest team. Hundreds of fans turned out for a street festival before Blank and Garber arrived by helicopter for the introductory news conference, touching down on the roof of a downtown hotel overlooked Centennial Olympic Park. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed also attended. While the new stadium is primarily designed for the Falcons, Blank stressed that it will be soccer-friendly. The stands along the sideline will have the capability to retract, accommodating the larger soccer pitch while maintaining sightlines. Curtains will descend from the roof automatically to close off the upper sections, creating the sort of intimate atmosphere that works better for less-attended MLS games. The new facility is designed to seat about 71,000 for NFL games, Blank said, but can be reduced to about 29,000 for soccer using only the lower bowl. "There will never be an MLS game in Atlanta where NFL lines are shown on the field," Blank said, drawing a big cheer. MLS, which has 19 teams this season, is expanding rapidly with a goal of having 24 teams by the end of the decade. Orlando and New York City are scheduled to begin play next season, and the league has awarded a provisional team in Miami to a group led by David Beckham, contingent on a soccer-specific stadium being built. The league has added five teams in the past five years, including the hugely successful Seattle Sounders. Garber said there is no worry about growing too fast given the abundance of soccer talent around the world. "When we expand, we can pick from players around the world," Garber said. "We could change the roster rules, the international player limits, and have no dilution in talent." Blank said he will try to encourage some crossover between Falcons season-ticket holders and those interested in attending MLS games. But he acknowledged the teams are likely to have very different fan bases, making it clear the new soccer team will not merely be a side business for the Falcons. His first priority is to hire a team president for the MLS venture. He will also be exploring possible locations for a state-of-the-art training facility. "We dont want any stepchildren in our family," Blank said. "We want to make sure the people running soccer get up in the morning thinking about soccer and go to bed thinking about soccer." Josh Hart Pelicans Jersey . "Ive got a lot of work to do on this team and the sooner that I can get back to my office and start that work, itll be better," he said straight-faced as the rest of the room erupted in laughter. Derrick Favors Pelicans Jersey .Y. - Peyton Manning made his fifth MVP award a family affair. https://www.pelicanslockerroom.com/Brandon-Ingram-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Louis Blues were workmanlike, methodical and -- most of all -- effective on Monday night.KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Alex Gordon had two firsts Sunday: six RBIs and a curtain call. Gordon went 4 for 4 with a pair of three-run homers and a career-high six RBIs as the Kansas City Royals beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-6. Gordon drove a 1-1 pitch from Ubaldo Jimenez (2-5) out to right with two outs in the fifth with Nori Aoki and Billy Butler aboard. Gordon, who led the Royals with 20 home runs last year, had gone 134 at-bats without a home run. Gordon homered in his next at-bat, a three-run shot off left-hander Troy Patton in the seventh after Eric Hosmer walked and Butler doubled for his third hit. The Kauffman Stadium crowd then gave Gordon a lengthy standing ovation, calling him out of the dugout. Gordon said he had "never" had a curtain call. "I didnt know what to do," Gordon said. "They told me just to go wave my helmet. They just started yelling at me. I was downstairs enjoying the moment. They told me to come up and give the crowd a wave. It was my first. Hopefully, its not the last. It was pretty cool. Its something I want forget. "Its fun when we play like this and the crowd starts doing what they do. It makes it really exciting." It was Gordons third career multi-homer game. His six RBIs matched a Royals season high. His four hits matched a career high, the 10th time he has accomplished that. "Even though I was making good pitches, they found a way to hit the ball hard. I felt really good and I made a lot of good pitches," Jimenez said. "They had a good approach. I threw a lot of sinkers down and they found the hole every time. They had a really good game. Theres nothing I can do but move on." Gordons second homer turned out to be necessary. Adam Jones hit a three-run homer off Royals reliever Aaron Crow in the ninth. It was the first runs Crow allowed in 20 relief appearances and 17 innings. Greg Holland got the final two outs for his 12th save in 13 appearances. James Shields (6-3) picked up his fifth win in six starts, holding the Orioles to three runs and nine hits over seven inninggs. Zion Williamson Pelicans Jersey. . Shields won back-to-back starts at Kauffman Stadium for the first time. Shields settled down after a three-run third when he gave up five hits, including four straight to open the inning. "The difference (was) I was getting my ground balls and they found holes," Shields said of the third inning. "I was making my pitches, trying to get a double play that inning and they were just finding some good holes." Jimenez, who was 2-0 with a 0.46 ERA in his first three May starts, was pulled after five innings. He permitted five runs on eight hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. "The pitch to Gordon was uncharacteristic," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "He had, really, just the one (bad) pitch to Gordon. He tried to go down and away, and it came back in and came into a sweet spot. He hadnt walked anybody to that point, either. Except for one pitch I thought he was good. After the first inning he was pretty crisp." Nick Markakis singled home J.J. Hardy, who had three hits, and David Lough in the Orioles third. Manny Machado, who had three hits, had a sacrifice fly in the third to score Jonathan Schoop for the other run off Shields. Butler singled home Aoki with two outs in the first for the first Kansas City run. Lorenzo Cains single in the fourth scored Gordon with the other Royals run. Notes: RHP Dylan Bundy, the Orioles top prospect and the fourth overall pick in the 2011 draft, is scheduled to throw an inning in extended spring Tuesday in Florida. It will be his first time to face opposing hitters since having Tommy John surgery last June 27. .Royals 2B Omar Infante, who is on the disabled list with a lower back disc irritation, has begun to hit off the tee and is taking slow rollers. .The Orioles dropped to 1-6 in Sunday games. They are 21-14 on other days. ... Both managers, Ned Yost and Showalter, won challenge reviews: Yost in the fourth inning when Gordon was called out at second, Showalter in the seventh when Cain was first ruled safe for an infield single. That was overturned. 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