Atlanta United will play Seattle and Columbus in tourney

Atlanta United will begin play in MLS in 2017.

Atlanta United will begin play in MLS in 2017.

It won’t be the first game Atlanta United plays, but the MLS expansion side’s first announced game will be in the Carolina Challenge Cup on Feb. 18.

Atlanta United will play Seattle at 7 p.m. at MUSC Health Stadium in Charleston, S.C.

Atlanta United will next play Columbus at 5 p.m. Feb. 22, and will wrap up the event playing the Charleston Battery, its USL affiliate, at 7 p.m. Feb. 25.

The three games should fall in the latter half of Atlanta United’s preseason schedule.

This will be the 13th staging of the Carolina Challenge Cup. The other game Feb. 18 is Charleston vs. Columbus at 4:30 p.m. Also, there will be Charleston vs. Seattle at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22, and Seattle vs. Columbus at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 25.

The MLS schedule is expected to be released in January.

Atlanta United will play its home games at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium until the construction of Mercedes-Benz Stadium is complete.

The team will train at its headquarters, also under construction, in Marietta.

The team has signed eight players and is coached by Gerardo Martino. The MLS regular season will run from early March until late October.