South Atlantic League (baseball) - West Virginia Power

Charleston Alley Cats Change Name to West Virginia Power

The West Virginia Power, formerly known as the Charleston Alley Cats, unveiled their new identity program at the Charleston Town Center on Tuesday, November 9th.

"The move to the new stadium, combined with a new ownership group, new management team, and new affiliation, provided a unique opportunity to re-brand professional baseball in the region," said General Manager Andy Milovich. "West Virginia is and will continue to be recognized as one of the leading energy providers for the country. The energy production from coal, natural gas, and hydro-electric sources, combined with the fact that Charleston serves as the center for the state's political and economic powers led us to the name of the team. We felt it was extremely important that the name reflect the entire region and are excited about the tremendous marketing opportunities that will go along with the name." The club's new colors include Moss, a custom color not used by any other Minor League club, Gold, Yellow, and Cream.

The Power are working on the new franchise with Plan B Branding of San Diego. Plan B Branding is an ideas company that helps Minor League Baseball franchises increase their attendance and revenue. Several of Plan B's clients set attendance and merchandise records during the 2004 season.

"After meeting with the staff in Charleston, we all agreed that this franchise must become the pride of West Virginia," Plan B Branding partner Casey White said. "To meet this goal we needed to create a look not only unique to the state, but also unique to Minor League Baseball.

The team has temporarily relocated to the former Bob Evan's Restaurant at 450 Quarrier Street, next to the Town Center. It will have merchandise available by Thanksgiving and will introduce other ticket packages at that time as well. Mascots and uniforms will be unveiled in the coming weeks. Tickets and Power Merchandise will be available in December at www.wvpower.com.

The Power opens the home portion of their schedule on Thursday, April 14th, when they host the Hagerstown Suns. The 2005 season will feature the franchise's new affiliation with the Milwaukee Brewers and the Inaugural Season in the new stadium in Charleston's East End.

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