In the space of just a few days Ballard FC and Salmon Bay FC made two new additions to the collection of quality kits in the Seattle soccer scene. Ballard’s new home look “The Vintage Kit” and Salmon Bay’s inaugural away design “The Discovery Kit” both pay tribute to the corner of the city that they call home.
Ballard FC will be rocking a pretty cool pinstripe design when they wear their primary kits this year. A primarily cream shirt is set off with rust and white collar and cuffs, and pinstripes of that same rust color and a salmon pink. Coupled with the club crest and the shirt sponsor Wombi’s logo, the shirt has a decidedly ‘70s and early ‘80s vibe to it. The name “The Vintage Kit” is a little on-the-nose – no less so because, as the club notes in their own introduction of the kit, “[the] club may only be three and a half years old” – but it’s a name that pays some homage to part of what makes their namesake neighborhood so beloved by those that call it home.
Ballard’s core is built around buildings and businesses that feel like a time machine when you step through their doors. The team visited a couple of them to photograph the new kit, heading to Ballard Consignment and the Ballard Smoke Shop to shoot the throwback look. With bold pinstripes and classic striped accents on the collar and cuffs, the Vintage Kit is right where it belongs among the vinyl seats and wood paneling of the Ballard Smoke Shop, one of Seattle’s great dive bars.
“We wanted to highlight ‘Vintage Ballard’ and these businesses are hallmarks of the Ballard Community that were the perfect backdrop for the kit’s design,” said Sam Zisette, Co-Founder and President of Ballard FC, in the club’s release. “While Ballard FC is only a few years old, this community has history that we wanted to celebrate and preserve through the Vintage Kit."
The cream base and salmon stripes were an intentional move to connect the USL 2 side with their USL W counterparts, Salmon Bay FC. The pink is meant to evoke the broader branding of Salmon Bay, while the cream color serves as the base for both Ballard’s Vintage Kit and Salmon Bay’s Discovery Kit. While the Vintage Kit roots Ballard FC in the history of one of Seattle’s most iconic neighborhoods, “The Discovery Kit” brings the natural beauty of the largest city park in Seattle right onto the pitch – and into many a closet or wardrobe, I’m sure – as the team dons their away kit when they hit the road.
Named for Discovery Park, a sprawling city park in the Magnolia neighborhood that offers beautiful views and an access to nature that is uncommon even in Seattle, the Discovery Kit is meant to honor all of Salmon Bay. Using the same cream color for the base as Ballard’s Vintage Kit, the Discovery Kit features silhouettes of conifers in hues of blues and greens that evoke both the water and trees of the area.
“When discussing our away kit, we knew we wanted to speak to the beautiful landscape that surrounds us in our neighborhood,” said Tiffany Mallick, VP of Salmon Bay FC, in the club’s release. “We’re specifically highlighting our local community through showcasing Discovery Park and tying in the breathtaking view of the Olympic Mountains which appears on our crest. Outside of the visuals, the kit also represents our support for public parks and our belief in environmental justice."
The group of silhouetted trees closest to the bottom of the kit are rendered in a deep blue-ish green that is also represented on the collar and cuffs.
The designs are both strong, and will make excellent additions to any collection. The Vintage Kit strikes me as being especially wearable, but both kits will look great in game and on the street. The designs are bold and impactful without being complicated or flashy, achieving a strong impression without doing too much. Beyond just the fact that they’re cool jerseys, maybe the best part of both kits is how connected to the places the clubs call home they are. Particularly as USL clubs grow and find themselves in a sporting landscape with likely previously unimaginable potential, the ability to distinguish themselves by being not only teams from Seattle but being of Ballard and Salmon Bay can be a huge factor in giving people a reason to fall in love.
Courtesy of Ballard FC and Salmon Bay FC
