The NHL Seattle expansion team is moving toward announcing its name, logo, and colors.
“Some have speculated that it is a lot of free time. It is not,” NHL Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke said Thursday. “Vegas did it a year ago. We will do it long before that.”
Vegas Golden Knights, the former NHL expansion team, announced its name, logo and colors on November 22, 2016 and made its regular season debut on October 6, 2017. Seattle will begin playing in the 2021 season- 22.
“This is one of those problems where you want to measure twice and cut once, and that is exactly what we are doing,” Leiweke said. “And we’d like to think that when we launch it, people will say, ‘Hey, they got it.’ And so, we’re working on it, and that’s the next stop.”
NHL Seattle is going through the trademark process with multiple finalists.
“If you camp in one name with everything that happens in the world of trademarks, you put yourself at risk, so we have a handful of names that we think can work,” Leiweke said. “We probably have a leader in the clubhouse. But we’re working on it. And it’s not going to happen this afternoon, but it won’t be far behind.”
Amazon announced Thursday that it has purchased the naming rights to the building in which NHL Seattle will play. The building will be called Climate Pledge Arena, inspired by The Climate Pledge, which was created by Amazon and Global Optimism in 2019 and asks signatories to be zero net carbon in their business by 2040.
Images of the building released Thursday used shades of green and some light blue.
“Obviously, the colors that fit the climate promise are green,” said Leiweke. “I’m not sure I read that. The team will have its own unique identity, and the colors and wordmarks, all of those things, will go into what we think will be a fantastic brand when we’re done.”
A new 18,100-seat arena is being built under the iconic roof of the old Key Arena near the Space Needle in Seattle Center. Leiweke said construction was not materially delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, which halted the NHL season on March 12, and will be complete in time for the 2021-22 season.
When asked if the building will be ready in time to potentially host the 2021 NHL Draft, Leiweke said: “It depends on when that season starts and when the draft is, but we are an ambitious group, and that would be an amazing way to start a franchise. “
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