Brian in Boston

48 minutes ago, AstroBull21 said:

So if we are speculating...i feel like its New Orleans moving to Wichita.  NOLA is the one that stands out that has the older venue that needs replacement.  New Orleans also falls in the SL footprint, not far from Biloxi and Mississippi.

 

If NOLA opens up to the Southern League,  its not Mobile (they're going to North Alabama soon) but it could be one of the three in Tennessee  The Jackson Generals, Chattanooga Lookouts, and the Tennessee Smokies all play in dated ballparks and might be on the block.  I feel like its going to be Jackson Generals but no clue.

I'd agree with your assessment of the situation.

The only current Pacific Coast League markets that would fit into the Southern League's footprint are Memphis, Nashville, and New Orleans. The oldest ballpark amongst those three markets is the Shrine on Airline in New Orleans, which opened in 1997. The Baby Cakes' attendance was down precipitously this season.

In the Southern League, the oldest facility after Mobile's soon-to-be-vacated Hank Aaron Stadium is the Ballpark at Jackson. Meanwhile, the Jackson Generals/West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx have finished either last or second-to-last in Southern League attendance in 13 of the last 14 seasons. The Chattanooga Lookouts and Tennessee Smokies have, traditionally, both been much better draws than the Generals/Diamond Jaxx.

To bring this back to a branding-centric discussion, I would assume that New Orleans would remain the Baby Cakes after such a shift. After all, team ownership only introduced the identity last season. As for a Wichita-based Pacific Coast League team, I'm going to presume that the owners will conduct a "Name-the-Team" contest. Now, whether said promotion would actually influence the team's branding, or simply be a cover for the owners foisting a pre-selected identity upon the fanbase, I don't know. Still, I'd expect that if fan suggestions are actually entertained, we're likely to see Wranglers in the mix, as well as something with a flight-based theme - Aeros, Aviators, Pilots, etc.     

With the exception of their first five or six years of operation, the BayBears have always had a tough time drawing crowds to Hank Aaron Stadium. The team has only finished in the top half of Southern League attendance four or five times, while finishing in the bottom third on 11 occasions (including this season's projected - and, obviously, to-be-expected - dead last). Including this year, the team has averaged fewer than 2,500 fans a game for seven straight seasons, Truth be told, most games Hank Aaron Stadium has sat half empty for much of the team's existence.  

15 minutes ago, ChicagoOakland said:

https://ballparkdigest.com/2018/08/08/fayetteville-team-branding-to-be-unveiled-september-12/

 

All we know down here in North Carolina is that the colors are black/gray/red (Fayetteville Hurricanes??) and the names could be any of these:
 

Fatbacks. Fly Traps. Jumpers. Wood Dogs.  Woodpeckers.

...it's going to be Fatbacks, isn't it?

When Fayetteville announced the Black, Gray, and Red palette back in May, it struck me that those colors would lend themselves to the name Fayetteville Woodpeckers. Many of the woodpecker species found in North Carolina - including the Downy woodpecker, Hairy woodpecker, Ivory-billed woodpecker, Northern flicker woodpecker, Pileated woodpecker, Red-bellied woodpecker, Red-headed woodpecker, and the Yellow-bellied sapsucker - feature those colors in their plumage. 

Well, we'll find out in just over a month.

I didn't  realize until today that the summer collegiate Coastal Plain League's High Point-Thomasville HiToms have apparently begun using a new primary logo.

 High Point-Thomasville HiToms Logo

 

3 hours ago, MBurmy said:

All of a sudden Peppermint Patty's team name doesn't sound so unusual

Yes, while a clunky mouthful, High Point Dragon Claws would have not only paid homage to "topping" a bat in order to determine which team captain would get the first pick in selecting players for a pick-up baseball game, but also have referenced the ball-and-claw style of foot often seen in furniture making.  

Oh, how I hate to see the Triple-A team of my youth succumb to this OVERdone-to-death sports branding fad.

That said, it could be worse. The PawSox could have embraced one of the most familiar colloquialisms for this signature Rhode Island foodstuff and dubbed themselves the Pawtucket Gaggers (Gaggahs). 

With the independent Atlantic League's Bridgeport Bluefish relocating to the new BB&T Point stadium in High Point, North Carolina in time for the 2019 season, a "Name the Team" contest for the franchise has been underway in the Piedmont Triad. Yesterday, the final three candidates for the team's new identity were revealed to the public.

The team will be known as the High Point Dragon Claws, High Point Rockers, or High Point Splinters.

Previously eliminated names in the multi-round contest were Chairmen, Hush Puppies, Iron Dragons, Iron Eagles, Pioneers, RockerSox, and Tri-Stars.

The team's name and primary logo are set to be unveiled at 6:00 PM on Thursday, July 12th.

High Point Baseball Announces Final Three Names 

Both of the word marks are outstanding. I love the logo that features the rat holding the slice of pepperoni pizza aloft, though it could do without the baseball bat he's wielding (Brandiose gonna Brandiose). All of that said, the simplicity of the pizza peel emblazoned with the "SI" ligature is my personal favorite. I just think it's phenomenal!  

Bung Hammers? The trend towards food and beverage-themed identities has jumped the shart.

Black, Gray, and Red as team colors, huh? That palette would certainly lend itself to the name Fayetteville Woodpeckers. Many of the woodpecker species found in North Carolina - including the Downy woodpecker, Hairy woodpecker, Ivory-billed woodpecker, Northern flicker woodpecker, Pileated woodpecker, Red-bellied woodpecker, Red-headed woodpecker, and the Yellow-bellied sapsucker - feature those colors in their plumage. 

We shall see.

2 hours ago, leopard88 said:

This one suffers from the grouper problem -- live animal in the middle of a sandwich.

18 hours ago, bigtex said:

Corpus Christi Hooks going as the "Blue Ghosts" on June 21 in honor of the USS Lexington.

 

https://twitter.com/cchooks/status/964229811932684288

That's terrific news. The Blue Ghosts moniker was under consideration for the team's identity prior to its 2005 debut season. Personally, I'd hoped that it would be selected, as it is a truly unique name with ties to an important local landmark.  

I love the Blue Ghosts logos that have been unveiled for the weekend. They capture the feel of the crudely-drawn tattoos that many U.S. Navy personnel opted to get during the World War II era.  

The Durham Bulls have unveiled new uniforms ahead of the 2018 International League season. They're billing the look as a "return to tradition".

Durham Bulls - A Return to Tradition

The New England Collegiate Baseball League's North Adams SteepleCats have unveiled a new logo and color scheme.

SteepleCats Reveal New Look, New Logo

21 minutes ago, Silent Wind of Doom said:

So, I've never seen discussion of a new league like this.  Does theorizing about what the league will be like in terms of locations and identities belong in here, in concepts, or in sports in general?

Discussion of XFL branding, both league logos and team names and marks, belongs in this thread. That said, theorizing about team locations and identities is fine, so long as logo and design-based discussion doesn't get sidetracked by in-depth analysis of where teams may/should be sited based upon business analytics, etc. After all. this is the Sports Logos thread.     

Discussion of XFL business decisions - personnel hirings, player signings, rules of play, broadcast deals, the reasoning behind the selection of markets, etc. - should be discussed here.

As for proposed concepts, they should be posted in the Concepts forum.

Thank you.     

A new ownership group - Diamond Dreams, LLC - has purchased the Mankato MoonDogs of the summer collegiate Northwoods League. Along with announcing the status of several upgrades that are being made to the team's home at Franklin Rogers Park, the new owners have also unveiled a new primary logo for the team.

Mankato MoonDogs Unveil New Ownership Group, Logo and Major Ballpark Enhancements for 2018 

With the exception of those teams operating in the complex-based development leagues in Florida, Arizona and the Dominican Republic, the vast majority of minor league baseball teams are not owned by their parent-clubs. Rather, they're independently - sometimes, locally - owned. As a result, the potential for affiliation changes is all too real. Under your preference, a minor league franchise's identity would be replaced, on a whim, whenever its parent-franchise changed. 

In my opinion, it is far better when minor league affiliates adopt branding that is tied to local culture and history. Not only are such brands more likely to resonate with local fans, but they need not be changed in the event that a new parent-franchise comes to town. 

15 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

I prefer the direction that the D-League is taking, with most of their teams sharing the nicknames of the parent club.

Except that most NBA G-League teams don't, in fact, share the nicknames of their parent NBA clubs. The majority of NBA G-League franchises - 15 of the circuit's 26 teams... 16 of 27, counting next year's Capital City Go-Go - have unique monikers.   

Seattle can begin NHL expansion process

In the wake of the Seattle City Council approving a privately financed $600 million renovation of the Key Arena, Gary Bettman has announced that the ownership group interested in bringing a National Hockey League franchise to Seattle can file an application for an NHL expansion team. The price tag for the potential team will be $650 million and the league is only considering Seattle for expansion.

The ownership group - which counts private equity investor David Bonderman and movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer  amongst its members - will be permitted to run a season-ticket drive within the next few months in order to gauge interest. 

So, if the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and Augusta Green Jackets are any indication, Brandiose has a new staple image in their minor-league design portfolio. In addition to their now well-known "mascot-swinging-an-object-like-a-baseball-bat" design, they've added the "steroid-enhanced-mascot-doing-ab-crunches".

I'm surprised they didn't design the "A" with the crossbar stroke and wings going in the opposite direction. That way, it would have looked a bit like a 4, a homonym for "Fore!", which would have tied into the Green Jackets' golf-themed name. That would have been so Brandiose.   

The summer collegiate Prospect League's Hannibal, Missouri-based team has unveiled its identity. The team will be known as the Hannibal Hoots. Team colors are black, yellow, grey and white. The club's mascot is an owl.

Hoots unveiled as nickname for Hannibal's Prospect League franchise...

Hoots bested Huckle-Bears, Hucks, Lumber Barons, and Steamers in the team's "Name the Team" contest.

2 hours ago, lilben777 said:

Anything on the MiLB front? It’s seems too quiet for just after the season....

Fayetteville Baseball Club LLC - operating as the Buies Creek Astros until they move into a new downtown Fayetteville, NC ballpark in 2019 - has submitted applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office for protection on the names Fayetteville Fatbacks and Fayetteville Woodpeckers. Those were two of the names that - along with Fayetteville Fly Traps, Fayetteville Jumpers, and Fayetteville Wood Dogs - were part of a "Name the Team" contest that the team conducted last year.

Team officials have tentative plans to reveal the name during the week of December 4th.

http://www.fayobserver.com/news/20171017/fayetteville-fatbacks-woodpeckers-itll-be-one-of-them

Names and logos for two more teams in the summer collegiate Expedition League have been revealed.

The team in Spearfish, South Dakota has been named the Spearfish Sasquatch, with the team in Dickinson, North Dakota being dubbed the Badlands Big Sticks.

Also, the Hastings, Nebraska-based team has confirmed that it will be be known as the Hastings Sodbusters.

Logos for all eight of the Expedition League's teams can be found here.

Keith Flynn of Flynnagain Productions is responsible for designing the logos of the Aberdeen Hotshots, Casper Horseheads and the Western Nebraska Pioneers. Ross Johnson of Ross Johnson Design Company has been credited with producing the logo for the Souris Valley Sabre Dogs.    

The summer collegiate Northwoods League has awarded an expansion team to Hudson, Wisconsin. The St. Croix River Hounds will begin play in 2019. The team's logo package will be unveiled at a fan event in November.

More branding news is beginning to flow in from the summer collegiate Expedition League.

In addition to the Aberdeen, South Dakota-based Hub City Hotshots unveiling their name and logo package, two other expedition league teams have revealed their names and logos, as well:

Casper Horseheads (Casper, WY)

Western Nebraska Pioneers (Gering, NE)

Additionally, the team based in Hastings, Nebraska has announced that it will be known as the Hastings Sodbusters. Logos are forthcoming.

Lastly, The Expedition League teams based in Dickinson, North Dakota and Pierre and Spearfish, South Dakota have narrowed their possible team identities down to the following finalists:

Dickinson, ND
Badlands Big Sticks
Dakota Rattlers
Queen City Settlers

Western Roughnecks

Pierre, SD
Pierre Trappers
Pierre Prairie Dogs
Pierre Ranchers

Spearfish, SD
Spearfish Batz

Spearfish Sasquatch
Spearfish Stingers
Queen City Royals

No word, as yet, on what the Expedition League ball clubs in Brandon, Manitoba; Minot, North Dakota; and Rapid City, South Dakota are going to do with regard to names and logos.

It does appear that Keith Flynn of Flynnagain Productions will be creating the logo packages for all of the league's teams.