The Union’s new jersey features a throwback style that pays tribute to their very first kit

The Union are honoring their milestone 15th season with a nod to their first.

Their new home jersey for this year and next year, unveiled Wednesday morning, brings back a hallmark of the first jersey in team history: a stripe down the middle of a navy blue shirt.

That style was the basis for Union jerseys from the team’s 2010 debut through 2017. The new version gives the form a modern interpretation, as the stripe is a gold and lighter blue pattern instead of one solid line.

The diamond and triangle shapes in the pattern are meant to evoke the trusses of the Commodore Barry Bridge, which towers over Subaru Park’s north side. (They also conveniently form something that looks like a snakeskin, a common theme in Union jerseys over the years.)

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“Union fans have been awaiting the return of the center stripe for many years,” Union senior creative director Shaun Kreider said in a statement. “With 2024 being the club’s landmark 15th season, we felt it only right to revisit the classic design, but with a modern twist.”

This is the fourth jersey to be designed with input from fans in the Union Creative Collective, which started with the famed lightning bolt kit of 2021-22.

The team’s social media staff has teased the launch for a few days, including a video compilation with famous headlines from The Inquirer, The Daily News, and other media outlets.

But they knew that some fans had already seen the jersey, because it was leaked in EA Sports’ hugely popular soccer video game late last month. The leak had 18 MLS jerseys and six NWSL jerseys, and lasted just long enough for it to be widely seen.

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A little extra offseason publicity didn’t end up hurting, especially because Adidas – which makes all of MLS’s jerseys – reveals the new crop right before a season starts. Many fans would prefer they do so right before a season ends, in late November or early December, to buy the jerseys as Christmas presents.

They’d probably also prefer that Adidas and Fanatics, which runs MLS’s online store, lower the prices. This year’s jerseys cost $99.99 for a blank replica, $134.99 for a customized replica, $159.99 for a blank authentic, and $194.99 for a customized authentic.

Union fans won’t even be able to buy truly authentic jerseys. The team signed a sponsorship deal with Independence Blue Cross to put the company’s logo on one of the Union’s jersey sleeves, but a team spokesperson said the deal only applies for apparel that players will wear. Most sleeve sponsor deals in MLS extend to jerseys that fans can buy.

It’s the first time the Union have had a paid jersey sleeve sponsorship. Subaru had a jersey patch from 2020-21, but that was a make-good for lost opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

The new jersey is on sale now through MLSStore.com, Fanatics, and Adidas. The Union will hold a launch event at Subaru Park on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with an art display of famous moments in team history.

The Union played to a scoreless tie with the New England Revolution in their preseason finale Wednesday afternoon in Clearwater, Fla.

In the first half, Jack McGlynn had a strong long-range shot saved; in the second, Mikael Uhre couldn’t finish a breakaway, and Kai Wagner hit a blast off the crossbar.

The Union will officially kick the new season off on Tuesday in the Concacaf Champions Cup at Costa Rican club Saprissa (10 p.m., FS2, TUDN).