Central Hockey League - Amarillo Gorillas
Amarillo Gorillas Unveil New Name, Logo
 Amarillo was given a new reason to pound its chest
Wednesday.
Continuing to build excitement at the dawn of a new
era, Hockey Sports of Amarillo unveiled "Gorillas" as
the new mascot for Amarillo's team in the Central Hockey
League.
With "Welcome to the Jungle" blaring in the
background, the team's new mascot sprinted on stage in
front of almost 300 fans at the Amarillo Civic Center
Grand Plaza. Once the new logo was unveiled, it had both
owners and fans alike going ape.
"This
is unique," said Denis J. Puska, the Gorillas' director
of communications. "It's gigantic; it's ferocious.
Everything we want our team to be is in that logo."
Wednesday's announcement marks the biggest step for
the organization since a group of local owners took over
operations of the franchise in May. At that time, the
new owners opted not to keep the "Rattlers" name and
logo the team had held for six seasons, instead choosing
to hold a name-the-team contest.
After receiving more than 1,000 entries, the group
pored over several possibilities before coming to a
decision two weeks ago.
"It literally came in over the fax machine," said
Terry Hawthorne, spokesman for the ownership group. "We
were looking at some other names, but when something
like this came over, it started to grow on us."
Before the new nickname could become official, the
franchise had to pass it by the CHL. But CHL director of
communications Steve Cherwonak said the league needed
only 30 minutes before giving the organization the
go-ahead.
"Everything from re-staffing to the new identity to
the new logo, this ownership group has done a tremendous
job of getting this off the ground," Cherwonak said.
Ironically, Gorillas was one of the finalists when
the team first entered the Western Professional Hockey
League in 1996. Puska said it is likely the first time
Gorillas has been used as the mascot for a professional
sports team.
The winning entry was sent in by Cathy Sechrist, with
the logo prepared by Massive Graphics of Norman, Okla.
Gorillas was chosen over such names as Lone Stars,
Spiders and Dust Devils.
In addition to an extra jolt of excitement, Puska
said the Gorillas name should give the team a boost in
marketing - the team already has dubbed Cal Farley
Coliseum as "The Jungle" for Gorillas home games.
"This is everything we wanted," Puska said.
"Something big is coming to the Amarillo Civic Center
this fall."
Settling on a name, though, was not easy. Hawthorne
remarked that choosing the new team name was "probably
the most difficult task we've had in the last 30 days."
Still, it is another noticeable step in what
Hawthorne hopes is a successful first year for the
Amarillo Gorillas.
"I think this really kicks us into high gear,"
Hawthorne said. "It's a big new mascot for a big new
team. I think with all the excitement that's been
generated, we should be in the playoffs this time next
year."
This article was taken from
www.amarillonet.com. All rights reserved.
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