Utah holding the vote of fans in Arena for the name of the team, logo

The Utah Hockey Club has reduced the options of its permanent nickname to three and gives fans the opportunity to choose the winning candidate.

Smith Entertainment Group announced Wednesday that the three finalists are UTA Hockey Club, Utah Mammoth and Utah Wasatch. Fans will be able to vote in iPad stations installed throughout the Delta Center for a four game section that started with 3-2 defeat on Wednesday against Pittsburgh Penguins.

Fans will select from the three names and two potential logos – a logo that would accompany Hockey Club and Wasatch and the other linked to Mammoth.

“Voting at this stage of the process will only be done in Arena.” Smith Entertainment Group director Mike Maughan said. “We do it because this time, we include potential names and logos with them. … Due to the logos, we only do that in Arena and do not show them publicly so that we can protect these images. »»

Utah plans to announce the winning name and logo to be determined after the end of this season and before the start of next season. The hockey club was the name selected for the inaugural season of UTAH in the NHL after the co -owners Ryan and Ashley Smith bought the contracts of the managers, coaches and players of Arizona Coyotes.

Fans’ vote will continue when UTAH welcomes Blue Jackets Columbus on Friday, St. Louis Blues on Sunday and Philadelphia flyers on Tuesday. Maughan estimated that Utah will have around 15,000 fans at the four home games that will have the opportunity to vote.

Maughan said that he should determine if there will be another necessary step after this to select the winning names and logo, but, in the end, the fans will have the last word because Ryan and Ashley Smith consider The team as “a community asset. “”

“(The Smith) consider this as a truly exciting opportunity to do something that has never been done in the history of professional sports, which involves fans at this level and will accompany them throughout this process while we Let us seek to appoint a team together, ”said Maughan. “This is what we are very passionate about. They are people who are very focused on the community and focusing on the community, and we are delighted to be able to announce this next step in the process where we will work with everyone on the name of the team. »»

The fans survey will be executed using the methodology provided by Qualtrics, an experience management company that Ryan Smith co-founded. The same process was used to select the “Mountain Basketball” uniforms carried by the UTAH Jazz NBA team.

This is the fourth stage of fans’ involvement, which started with an open invitation for suggestions. These suggestions were reduced by voting to the top 20 and, thereafter, the first six. The hockey club and mammoth are the remaining names to vote on this top six. Wasatch is a new submission in place of Yeti.

Utah decided to go from Yeti after being unable to reach a coexistence agreement with Yeti Paste Company, which, according to Maughan Clothing or any other under -license. »»

The name Wasatch is in tribute to the Wasatch mountains which extend from the border of Utah-Issaho south of the center of Utah.

“Eighty-five percent of Utahans live less than 15 miles from what is called the Wasatch front, this mountain range,” said Maughan. “So, this allows us to honor this idea of ​​a mythical snow creature, but with a very centered approach on UTAH.”

The logo that would accompany the names of the Hockey and Wasatch club is a representation of this legendary snow creature. The name of Mammoth is linked to a logo with an illustration of a mammoth.

“All are designed in a very fierce and appropriate way for a NHL hockey team,” said Maughan.

During the survey, fans will be able to choose from different combinations of names and associated logos, including what they would look like on jerseys and ice.

Although the US patent and brands office has rejected bids for hockey club and Mammoth before, with the other 18 names of the last 20, Maughan said that it was not a surprise and that plans are in Place to solve any problem with the names considered.

“This is a very standard part of any name process,” said Maughan. “Now, obviously, we are trying to do things much more condensed than what has never been done before in professional sports, so we accelerate this whole process. But nothing is unexpected. … We have known all these elements for months and have strategies to manage everything that would leave the brand office concerning one of the names previously on the list or that remain on the list today. »»