Atlanta United's inaugural season may still be far from over, but already the club is on the road to becoming MLS's most successful expansion team.
Ignore the solid start on the field for a second. Atlanta are drawing incredibly well at their home games, boast an impressive and envious number of season-ticket holders, recently opened a state-of-the-art training facility, and will soon have shiny new (and very expensive) digs to play their matches in.
Now, throw in the fact that Atlanta have gotten off to a 3-2-2 start in 2017 with the exciting likes of Miguel Almiron and Josef Martinez leading the way and you have all the ingredients for the type of success that could make any team in the league a little jealous.
ESPN FC's Doug McIntyre took an in-depth look earlier this week at how everything came together for Atlanta United, and how they are on course to become the golden example for future MLS expansion teams. The story includes details about the huge influence that franchise owner Arthur Blank has had on the early success, as well as how the club's leadership was assembled.
