nhlfan79
Registered User
It's been done before. It's not minor league. It's worse. It's '90s roller hockey. I went to a few of their games.
Potential Atlanta NHL Expansion Team Thread
- Thread starter MMC
- Start date
It's been done before. It's not minor league. It's worse. It's '90s roller hockey. I went to a few of their games.
dj4aces
An Intricate Piece of Infinity
Wow... I had completely forgotten about that.It's been done before. It's not minor league. It's worse. It's '90s roller hockey. I went to a few of their games.
Don't get me wrong though, it's an interesting name... just not sure I'd want that as a pro hockey team name. I'd take it over Thrashers 2.0 though.
Edit: "Atlanta Fire" is also out. That's the local Cricket team.
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nhlfan79
Registered User
AintLifeGrand
Burnin Jet-A
Atlanta Fire used to be the Coolers Travel Team name as well
i think this re-hash has proven that its hard to beat the Thrashers Name and Brand Identity
i think this re-hash has proven that its hard to beat the Thrashers Name and Brand Identity
They used to whoop our asses when I was a kid. The Birmingham youth scene did not match up.
I'd still go Atlanta Phoenix. Or Firebirds I guess, but that seems to be already taken. Both would have some pretty great logo and color options.
dj4aces
An Intricate Piece of Infinity
I don't think it'd be that difficult. Firebirds focuses on the city seal, and re-using Thrashers focuses on the state bird. Is that really all metro Atlanta or the state of Georgia have to offer? Are there not other state symbols or features of the Atlanta area to choose from? The state insect is the honeybee, for instance. Doesn't exactly sound like a very menacing team name, but it's better than recycling an old name on a new franchise.
It's all hypothetical, at this point. If/when the franchise is awarded, perhaps the prospective owner(s) have a new name in mind already. Perhaps they ask locals which, out of a series of names, we'd prefer. Who really knows for sure?
GreenHornet
Registered User
You could go with "Stingers". Even bring in the pro wrestling legend Sting (who is still a beloved figure in Georgia) to appear at the announcement. (Except that he uses a scorpion as his motif, and "Stinger" is the Blue Jackets mascot.)
Headshot77
Bad Photoshopper
GreenHornet
Registered User
For my fellow Atlantans (or Georgians), as long as we're engaging in speculative hypotheticals, how about another one after watching the Winter Classic earlier today?
Let's say just for the sake of this conversation that we do get at third NHL team. Let's further say that we get either a Winter Classic or Stadium Series outdoor game. Where do you think it would be held?
My guess would probably be Truist Park, based on the demographics showing the suburbs being where most of the hockey fans are in the metro area.
However, my vote would be for Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium. I've always thought that football stadiums made for better sightlines for the rink than the irregular shape of baseball stadiums. Besides, the location is more in midtown Atlanta than downtown, and it would throw a bone to hockey fans south of town, as well as intown in places like midtown and Buckhead. Plus, it's fairly easily accessible for the fans in the 'burbs via MARTA.
Thoughts?
Let's say just for the sake of this conversation that we do get at third NHL team. Let's further say that we get either a Winter Classic or Stadium Series outdoor game. Where do you think it would be held?
My guess would probably be Truist Park, based on the demographics showing the suburbs being where most of the hockey fans are in the metro area.
However, my vote would be for Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium. I've always thought that football stadiums made for better sightlines for the rink than the irregular shape of baseball stadiums. Besides, the location is more in midtown Atlanta than downtown, and it would throw a bone to hockey fans south of town, as well as intown in places like midtown and Buckhead. Plus, it's fairly easily accessible for the fans in the 'burbs via MARTA.
Thoughts?
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Don't live there anymore but my thoughts...
1-- I'd *want* it to be at Bobby Dodd (playing hockey in the shadow of the pencil building? C'mon, how could you top it?),
2-- I think people that have never been to Atlanta would *expect* it to be the Benz (notwithstanding Peach Bowl considerations....),
3-- but to your point and reasons accompanying it, it almost certainly would end up being Truist.
You could have it at Georgia State/Center Parc Stadium if you wanted to be on Olympic soil......too bad that building hasn't been renovated in seven years.
dj4aces
An Intricate Piece of Infinity
Bobby Dodd would be cool, simply from a "playing hockey in the shadow of the city" standpoint. I'm not sure such a view could be beat, even if travel times leave much to be desired..
Given the fact that Atlanta is a fairly rainy city in the winter months, as well as a city with unpredictable weather (will it be 20F with snow? 30F with an ice storm? 70F with thunderstorms? Will it start at 70F/thunder, only to drop to 20F/snow in only a few hours? I've experienced it all here), perhaps Mercedes Benz might not be a bad idea -- at least from a "worst case scenario" point of view. The optics of holding an outdoor game under a dome isn't great, but would the league prefer to delay until the following day when it rains all day? Probably not, but stranger things have happened.
If you want to embrace more of the state, rather than simply metro Atlanta, hosting the game at Sanford Stadium in Athens would be a good choice too. The only questionmark here (besides the weather) would be whether such a Winter Classic would attract enough fans to fill the 96k seats at the venue.
Truist would only really be an option if one is still uncertain about the market, as it has the fewest number of seats out of the other venues listed, as well as it being located where fans already are. However, I do think Truist might be a better venue if it's a Stadium Series event, as one expects ballparks to host games like that.
Just my thoughts.
Yukon Joe
Registered User
Usual disclaimer: lawyer, but not licensed in the US, and I don't practice IP law.
The whole issue with trademarks is the question of "confusion". Will consumers be confused if they see two different trademarks that are too similar. So the more generic your proposed trademark is, the more narrowly construed it will be.
This is why you'll often see companies just inventing new words for their name. "Netflix" isn't an english word, so Netflix can control pretty much any use of the that particular 7-letter combination. Or that's why you'll see drug companies come up with such bizarre names for their drugs - so they can completely control them.
But let's say that a new NHL team in Atlanta wants to be called the Raptors (just to pick a random example). Obviously there's the Toronto Raptors, but basketball is different enough from hockey it's unlikely there'd be any confusion.
Doing a trademark search - okay interesting, there's a cancelled registration for a ball hockey team called the raptors. GIven that it's cancelled probably not an issue. Google search reveals that there are some youth hockey teams called the raptors - they almost certainly wouldn't care or pursue a trademark infringement claim.
But anyways - so the name Raptors would appear to be free and clear - but only for professional ice hockey. Any use to try and control the name outside of that world would be problematic.
dj4aces
An Intricate Piece of Infinity
Very much a murky subject, aye? When I was poking around aimlessly looking for details on stuff like trademark law and sports franchises, posted in such a way a non-lawyer like me could understand, I ran across details of a lawsuit filed by a Cleveland-based Roller Derby team ("Guardians") filed against the MLB team back in 2021 that was settled by the MLB team.
nhlfan79
Registered User
dj4aces
An Intricate Piece of Infinity
Indeed.
If "Potential Atlanta NHL Team" wants a name that's already in use, or even close to one that's already in use, lawyers will almost certainly be involved. If a rebirth of the Thrashers is chosen, all they have to do is talk to the current owner of the trademark: The NHL.
To that end, naming the team The Thrashers would be an easy course of action, but it's a course of action I'm personally not sold on.
GreenHornet
Registered User
Honestly, I was never really keen on the name when Ted Turner unveiled it, even though I got used to it in time. I agree that it's by far the path of least resistance for the potential owners of Atlanta NHL v3.0 if it comes to pass, and I wouldn't blame them for taking that path.
I also wouldn't necessary be bothered if they did, since I still have several pieces of Thrashers apparel. That said, however, I would definitely be on board with a new name and a fresh start if said (potential) new owners chose to go that way.
Don't forget that sometimes it's easier to settle than go to court even if you think you'll win.
nhlfan79
Registered User
Here's some fresh, new information about the rumored North Point Mall redevelopment, about 5-6 miles south of The Gathering location. From this, it doesn't sound like this site is a dark horse alternative location for a potential NHL arena, as I'd personally hoped. Instead, those in the know are still being a bit vague, but if you read between the lines, it seems like the idea is a mixed use destination, with mostly shopping, commercial, and some residential.
Plans should be revealed within the next three months.
Plans should be revealed within the next three months.
GreenHornet
Registered User
Yeah, when Buccigross' Twitter bomb dropped last spring, I was hoping North Point would be the location. However, once all the focus shifted to The Gathering, it seemed that ship had sailed.Here's some fresh, new information about the rumored North Point Mall redevelopment, about 5-6 miles south of The Gathering location. From this, it doesn't sound like this site is a dark horse alternative location for a potential NHL arena, as I'd personally hoped. Instead, those in the know are still being a bit vague, but if you read between the lines, it seems like the idea is a mixed use destination, with mostly shopping, commercial, and some residential.
Plans should be revealed within the next three months.
dj4aces
An Intricate Piece of Infinity
His bomb drop last year made me wonder about North Point too, but wasn't terribly surprised myself when that focus seemed to shift. Despite being in Forsyth, maps seem to indicate the location of The Gathering is considered unincorporated Alpharetta.
tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
It's been done before. It's not minor league. It's worse. It's '90s roller hockey. I went to a few of their games.
How quickly we forget.
Fayetteville FireAntz hockey team statistics and history at hockeydb.com
Historical facts and data about the Fayetteville FireAntz hockey team of the SPHL, including players, standings, logos, and game program images.
www.hockeydb.com
I dunno, much like Whalers it was a pretty bottom-shelf brand identity that only gets positive marks in retrospect.
To me, this is an opportunity to throw everything overboard and completely reboot Atlanta hockey with a new identity.
dj4aces
An Intricate Piece of Infinity
That's how I feel about it. There's a ton of potential that, perhaps, may require some deep thought by potential ownership and the marketing team of Atlanta Hockey v3.0... but I feel like falling back on the old team name just feels like a choice born from not having any original ideas.
AintLifeGrand
Burnin Jet-A
Here are the state symbols of GA
The only one that i think lands is a play off the Moniker of “Empire State of the South”
maybe something like Atlanta Emperors or Georgia Empire HC , Georgia Giants or maybe even the Atlanta Titans could land
The only one that i think lands is a play off the Moniker of “Empire State of the South”
maybe something like Atlanta Emperors or Georgia Empire HC , Georgia Giants or maybe even the Atlanta Titans could land
- Amphibian: American green tree frog
- Bird: brown thrasher
- Crop: peanut
- Fish: largemouth bass
- Flower: Cherokee rose
- Fruit: peach
- Gem: quartz
- Insect: honey bee
- Mammal: white-tailed deer[184]
- Marine mammal: right whale
- Mineral: staurolite
- Nicknames:
- "Peach State"
- "Empire State of the South"[185]
- Reptile: gopher tortoise
- Song: "Georgia on My Mind"
- Tree: live oak
- Vegetable: Vidalia onion
