The team will have its first season in 2025.
Written by Greg Dudek
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12 minutes ago
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2 minute read
Portland-based Maine's new professional USL League 1 soccer team unveiled its club name and logo Saturday in front of more than 1,000 supporters.
For the first season in 2025, the team will be known as the “Portland Hearts of Pine.” Deciding on the team's name took nearly five years, as the club's founders gleaned insights from focus groups, town halls and soccer events to come up with an inspired identity. By Maine Pride and Symbolism.
Hearts also unveiled a logo that features several iconic main elements. Maine is known as the Pine Tree State, home to the Maine pine trees with water in the background and a heart painted in honor of the state's star, Dirigo.
“Everything we do is built by community, and we knew our biggest challenge would be to represent diverse communities and perspectives across Maine,” said club founder Gabe Hoffman-Johnson. he said in a statement. “What we heard from every community, from every corner of the state, was how proud they were to be Minors, and especially how much they loved the natural beauty of the state. It is what unites us all, it is our heritage and these are the symbols we rely on to represent this club.”
Portland also draws inspiration for its nickname from centuries-old global soccer teams in Scotland's Hearts of Midlothian FC and Ghana's Accra Hearts of Oak SC. The club's motto is “Lead with your heart.”
Portland will be selected as a USL expansion team in September 2023 and will play its home games at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
NESN's Tom Caron is from Lewiston, Maine and is part of the Hertz ownership group.
