The Colorado Rapids hid it in plain sight.

Little did fans know that when they stopped to admire artist Pat Milbery’s Pride mural at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park last summer, they were actually staring at an Easter egg. It was a sneak peek at the Rapids’ 2023 secondary jersey, released Wednesday.

Dubbed their “New Day” jersey, it’s the first time in MLS history a club has created a jersey in partnership with a local artist, the Rapids said. The design is inspired by Colorado sunrises and sunsets, with shades of blue, trimmed with pops of orange and magenta, all in Milbery’s signature street-art style.

If you’ve spent time in Denver, you’re probably familiar with Milbery’s work — even if you don’t realize it. A former professional snowboarder, Milbery has painted several dozen large-scale murals around the Mile High City, including his well-known “Love This City” mural series, one of which features a large red heart with “Denver” emblazoned over the top of it.

When the Rapids began conversations with him about designing an MLS jersey, Milbery said he approached it with an “open heart and open ears.”

“There was a large overwhelming feeling of unexpected joy, and like, ‘Really? Is this for real? Is this a prank?'” Milbery told The Denver Gazette.

Then he found out he’d be the first local artist to do something like this.

“My immediate reaction was just respect. I was humbled, but I had a lot of respect,” Milbery said. “A lot of clubs would go to an agency.”

The project was nearly two years in the making because of the long production cycle required by MLS and Adidas, the jersey manufacturer. MLS teams each release one new jersey each season — either a primary or secondary — and it is worn for two seasons.

Milbery said he feels anticipation for the release of any project, but for this one, nearly two years in the making, his anticipation has really built up. He can’t wait to see how it is received by the fans.

“Soccer is just so powerful as a medium of culture,” Milbery said. “It really connects nationalities. It’s kind of like music (in that) it has the power to connect so much.”

Designing the Rapids “New Day” jersey

At the outset of the project, Milbery said he thought about how he wants his art to feel — uplifting and imaginative — and he created 60 different concepts. Immediately he learned there were a lot restrictions between the league and Adidas.

“Instead of thinking about myself, I thought about what this could mean to all those kids who look up to those Rapids players,” Milbery said. “I thought about how it could make the club feel, how it could connect the players and why they started playing soccer in the first place.”

It was important to Milbery to include a heart, which was an integral part of his “Love This City” mural series. So he made a variation of the heart specifically for the Rapids.

“Would the Rapids allow the love to be on there? Could we have a version of the heart on the jersey?” Milbery said. “Adidas, MLS and the Rapids all said ‘yes.'”

Now his recognizable, geometric street-art style has been incorporated into a soccer jersey. The heart he painted in the center of the Pride mural at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is now stamped onto the bottom left corner of the jersey.

When he painted that mural in the stadium, not even the players knew its look and feel was scheduled to become their secondary kit the next season.

“I hope the players see this and it’ll really create a strong connection, that they’re part of something bigger,” Milbery said.

A jersey with a cause

The Rapids’ secondary kit is traditionally a “community” kit which draws its inspiration from Colorado. And the Rapids hope to make a difference in the community with this year’s jersey by donating money and raising awareness for what they called a mental health crisis in Colorado.

Nearly one in five Coloradans are living with a form of mental illness, the Rapids said, which is the third-highest rate in the country. As they dug into the data, they felt the need to do something.

“Decreasing the stigma around mental health care is critically important,” Dr. Justin Ross, licensed clinical psychologist and UCHealth’s Director of Workplace Well-being, said in a news release. “Whole person wellbeing requires that we address mental health in a proactive and sustainable way.”

The Rapids are partnering with Mental Health Colorado and UCHealth in hopes of reducing the stigma of seeking help and are donating $25,000 to a variety of nonprofits that serve mental-health needs.

“With the ‘New Day’ kit, we see an opportunity to once again connect directly with our state by using Colorado’s stunning landscape as the inspiration for the jersey, while working with our local partners to bring attention to a mental health crisis that effects so many,” Wayne Brant, Colorado Rapids Sr. Vice President of Business Operations, said in a news release.

Milbery said between the design, the mission and the partnerships, everything fell into place.

“We’re creating something bigger, we’re telling a bigger story,” Milbery said. “We’re putting our hearts forward and becoming a vehicle for a bigger initiative.”

The Colorado Rapids hid it in plain sight.

Little did fans know that when they stopped to admire artist Pat Milbery’s Pride mural at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park last summer, they were actually staring at an Easter egg. It was a sneak peek at the Rapids 2023 secondary jersey, released Wednesday.

Dubbed their “New Day” jersey, it’s the first time in MLS history a club has created a jersey in partnership with a local artist, the Rapids said. The design is inspired by Colorado sunrises and sunsets, with shades of blue, trimmed with pops of orange and magenta, all in Milbery’s signature street art style.

If you’ve spent any time in Denver, you’re probably familiar with Milbery’s work — even if you don’t realize it. A former professional snowboarder, Milbery has painted several dozen large-scale murals around the Mile High City, including his well-known “Love This City” mural series, one of which features a large red heart with “Denver” emblazoned over the top of it.

Colorado artist wants his colorful street murals to make you look — and smile

When the Rapids began conversations with him about designing an MLS jersey, he said he said he approached it with an “open heart and open ears.”

“There was a large overwhelming feeling of unexpected joy, and like, ‘Really? Is this for real? Is this a prank?'” Milbery said.

Then he found out he’d be the first local artist to do something like this.

“My immediate reaction was just respect. I was humbled, but I had a lot of respect,” Milbery said. “A lot of clubs would go to an agency.”

The project was nearly two years in the making because of the long production cycle required by MLS and Adidas, the jersey manufacturer. MLS teams each release one new jersey each season — either a primary or secondary — and it is worn for two seasons.

Milbery said he feels anticipation for the release of any project, but for this one, nearly two years in the making, his anticipation has really built up and he can’t wait to see how it is received by the fans.

“Soccer is just so powerful as a medium of culture,” Milbery said. “It really connects nationalities. It’s kind of like music, it has the power to connect so much.”

Designing the Rapids “New Day” jersey

At the outset of the project, Milbery said he thought about how he wants his art to feel — uplifting and imaginative — and he created 60 different concepts. Immediately he learned there were a lot restrictions between the league and Adidas.

“Instead of thinking about myself, I thought about what this could mean to all those kids who look up to those Rapids players,” Milbery said. “I thought about how it could make the club feel, how it could connect the players and why they started playing soccer in the first place.”

It was really important to Milbery to include a heart, which was an integral part of his “Love This City” mural series. So, he made a variation of the heart specifically for the Rapids.

“Would the Rapids allow the love to be on there? Could we have a version of the heart on the jersey?” Milbery said. “Adidas, MLS and the Rapids all said ‘yes.'”

PHOTOS: Colorado Rapids “New Day” Jersey

Now his recognizable, geometric street art style has been incorporated into a soccer jersey. The heart he painted in the center of the Pride mural at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is now stamped onto the bottom left corner of the jersey.

When he painted that mural in the stadium, not even the players knew its look and feel was scheduled to become their secondary kit the next season. Milbery said he hopes the players will look at the heart on the stadium wall and now on their jersey, and maybe play with more heart.

“I hope the players see this and it’ll really create a strong connection, that they’re part of something bigger,” Milbery said.

A jersey with a cause

The Rapids’ secondary kit is traditionally a “community” kit which draws its inspiration from Colorado. And the Rapids hope to make a difference in the community with this year’s jersey by donating money and raising awareness for what they called a mental health crisis in Colorado.

Nearly one in five Coloradans are living with a form of mental illness, the Rapids said, which is the third-highest rate in the country. As they began to dig into the data, they felt the need to do something.

“Decreasing the stigma around mental health care is critically important,” Dr. Justin Ross, licensed clinical psychologist and UCHealth’s Director of Workplace Well-being, said in a news release. “Whole person well-being requires that we address mental health in a proactive and sustainable way.”

The Rapids are partnering with Mental Health Colorado and UCHealth in hopes of reducing the stigma of seeking help and are donating $25,000 to a variety of nonprofits that serve mental health needs.

“With the ‘New Day’ kit, we see an opportunity to once again connect directly with our state by using Colorado’s stunning landscape as the inspiration for the jersey, while working with our local partners to bring attention to a mental health crisis that effects so many,” Wayne Brant, Colorado Rapids Sr. Vice President of Business Operations, said in a news release. “We hope this can help change the perception around a topic that is affecting our friends, families and neighbors, and help shine light on a pathway to a brighter, new day.”

Milbery said he feels like between the design, the mission and the partnerships, everything fell into place.

“We’re creating something bigger, we’re telling a bigger story,” Milbery said. “We’re putting our hearts forward and becoming a vehicle for a bigger initiative.”