It’s a season of change for the Fresno Grizzlies, and true to form, they are embracing it with creativity and enthusiasm. The Triple-A baseball team unveiled a fresh look at a big party at Maya Cinemas on Tuesday night, complete with new colors, logos, and uniforms.
Traditionally, the Grizzlies have stuck to a mainly black and orange color scheme, a nod to their longtime Major League affiliate, the San Francisco Giants. Though some minor changes were made when the Houston Astros replaced the Giants, logos and colors mostly remained the same.
But an emphasis has been placed in recent years on the Grizzlies being a quintessentially Central Valley brand, regardless of any Major League affiliation. This new look, independent of any other team’s colors, is part of that effort. The scarlet, black, gold, and beige color scheme was chosen before the Washington Nationals, whose primary colors include red, were announced as the latest affiliate.
“We decided on colors we best felt represented Fresno and Central California, and we narrowed that down long before we were fortunate enough to affiliate with the Washington Nationals,” team president Derek Franks said in a news release.
The redesign builds on the “Farm Grown” and “Growlifornia” branding made popular since their debut in 2015, and the black and gold home alternate jersey is a nod to Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, the Grizzlies’ ballpark naming rights partner.
“It’s been a great four years of seeing people respond positively to the Growlifornia Flag, the ‘Bear Flag Rebellion,’ and really making the Grizzlies a point of local pride—I think you see a lot more Fresno Grizzlies apparel around town, where maybe five years ago that wasn’t the case,” said marketing director Sam Hansen. “So we took that framework of what makes our region special and built an identity with [marketing firm] Brandiose that we believe is an accurate depiction and representation of the Central Valley. Fans will notice a nod to past Grizz logos with the new marks, as well as an homage to the California flag with the home uniform.”
New merchandise was already available for purchase at the reception immediately following the announcement. Fans can head online or to the team store at the stadium to get geared up for the new season. Many more items are expected to be added in the coming days.
Other changes announced during the event include several construction and renovation projects, including the left field social area and bar that will be ready for use in the new season; a complete renovation of the upstairs club; a new kids’ area in right field; and upgrades to the women’s bathrooms (hallelujah, ladies, am I right?!).
If all of this news is making you wish Opening Day wasn’t so far away, the Grizzlies have an event coming up to tide you over. Their annual Hot Stove event, featuring former Major League stars Dave Stewart, Terry Pendleton, and C.J. Wilson, will be held at Warnor’s Theatre on February 21 at 6 p.m. The celebration, formerly a gala dinner, will be more family-friendly this year, with tickets starting at $10 for kids 12 and under. A VIP reception with a hosted bar, appetizers, and a meet-and-greet with the featured guests starts at $25 for kids 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased here.
“We went into planning this year’s event with two questions in mind: How do we make Hot Stove more inclusive for all of our fans, and how do we make sure more kids are at the event to learn about baseball?” Derek said. “We found our answer in a great setting at Warnors.”
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Have thoughts on the new uniforms? We would love to hear them, leave us a comment below!
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