Eastern League (baseball) - New Hampshire

New Hampshire Decides Against 'Primaries' Name

Team Owners Decide Against 'Primaries' Name

Negative Public Reaction Leads To Recall

MANCHESTER, NH -- Saying that the people have spoken, the owners of Manchester's new baseball team said that it will not be called the New Hampshire Primaries, as announced last week.

Team President and General Manager Shawn Smith unveiled the New Hampshire Primaries' name and logo, which featured an elephant and a donkey holding baseball bats, Nov. 6. He said at the time that the name reflected something unique about the state.

"The New Hampshire Primaries -- it's a celebration of what New Hampshire is all about, and it's OK if you don't like it," he said. "It's OK if you do like it."

But public reaction to the name was negative. A Web survey on TheWMURChannel.com consistently showed about 85 percent of participants did not like the name, and in an online discussion, potential fans said they thought the name was too political and only reflected one characteristic of New Hampshire.

An online petition was also started to demand that owners change the name, and more than 1,100 people had signed up by Monday afternoon.

Smith called the thousands of people who voted in polls and e-mailed the team "passionate baseball fans" who cared about the new team.

He said the team would seek public opinion on a new name. He said because of trademark and © timelines, the team does not have much time to register a new name and logo.

Smith said the team's Web site will have more information in a few days.

This article was taken from www.TheWMURChannel.com.  All rights reserved.