Cleveland Soccer Group Goes Back to the Future: Meet Forest City Cleveland

Cleveland’s new men’s professional soccer team has reached back to the region’s history for its new identity.

Cleveland Soccer Group, the organization that’s overseeing the development of men’s and women’s professional soccer teams in the city, announced this morning that the new MLS Next Pro team, which is expected to debut in 2027, will be known as Forest City Cleveland.

The name stems from one of Cleveland’s earliest nicknames, believed to have originated with former mayor William Case, who was secretary of the Cleveland Horticultural Society and actively encouraged the planting of shade and fruit trees. In fact, the first professional baseball team in the city, in 1869, was called the Forest Citys.

The name and logo also draw on the story of the “die hard tree” in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Identified as one of the oldest trees in the park — it’s a Moses Cleaveland Tree, the name given to trees still alive that date to his surveying of his namesake town in 1796 — the sycamore earned its nickname after the tree survived an effort to blow it up.

More than 3,000 people were surveyed for input, and initially, more than 200 names were considered, says Alex Kocher, a graphic designer and artist who was part of the design team.

“Forest City bubbled up to the surface fairly early, and the tree reinforced we were on the right track,” he says. “I thought it was a unique story and something we could look at as an icon for our club.”

Cleveland Soccer is also organizing a women’s soccer team, expected to play in the WPSL Pro League. That branding announcement is expected on May 4.

“We worked on both teams in tandem,” Kocher says. “We developed individual aesthetics and brand voices that don’t feel disparate. They will fit together as a unit.”

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