The Seattle Kraken have revealed the name and mascot for their new minor league affiliate: the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
The team is based in Palm Desert, California, and will begin play in the American Hockey League in 2022-23, when its new arena is completed.
The Kraken originally wanted to place its AHL affiliate in downtown Palm Springs, but that project never came together. Instead, Oak View Group decided on a 10,000-seat venue in an unincorporated area north of Interstate 10 in the mid-valley.
The delay on the arena project meant the Kraken had to share an AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, with the Florida Panthers for the 2021-22 season.
Welcome to the family, @Firebirds! Can’t wait to visit you in Coachella Valley!
Meet our @TheAHL Squad → https://t.co/4CGUhSkn7H pic.twitter.com/SUPm9Vt1jM
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) November 5, 2021
“Over the last two years, and after listening to fans, our leadership, and partners, we’ve been heavily involved in identifying the best team name and brand to represent the nine cities of the Coachella Valley,” said Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke, via the team. “As a proud resident of the valley, I think the Firebirds has a meaningful representation for the beauty and what people experience when they come to our great community.”
The Coachella Valley Firebirds’ colors are red, orange and black. Their primary logo “embodies the Mid-Century Modern design aesthetic for which the Valley has become world-famous,” according to the team, which has a secondary logo that features a palm tree against a field of mountains. The tree has nine fronds, one for each city in the valley.
The team said that the primary and secondary Firebirds logos will include “special color variants for friends, family, and neighbors in the LGBTQIA+ community.”
Source: www.espn.com