The Oklahoma City RedHawks (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) are no more, as new team ownership brings a new name and branding for 2015: the Oklahoma City Dodgers.
The name reflects the new status as the top farm team of the Los Angeles Dodgers. We also have a more detailed accounting of the team ownership: Mandalay Baseball is the new corporate owner, as opposed to the former corporate owner: Mandalay Baseball Properties. The Los Angeles Dodgers are indeed part of Mandalay Baseball investors, as is former Mandalay Baseball Properties investor Peter Guber.
“Today marks a new chapter in Oklahoma City’s baseball history, and we are proud to say we are now the Oklahoma City Dodgers,” said Oklahoma City Dodgers President/General Manager Michael Byrnes. “Soon after the ownership change took place, there was a dialogue as to how we could rebrand the team. Ultimately, ownership, team leadership, and key stakeholders felt there was no bigger statement for the Los Angeles Dodgers to plant their flag in Oklahoma City than by renaming their Triple-A team the Dodgers as well.”
“Using the Dodgers’ name is a privilege,” Guber added. “It’s one of the three or four most iconic brands in sports all over the world, and we are thrilled we have the opportunity to share it and shine with it.”
The team’s new logos and jerseys incorporate several elements of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ history and the culture of Oklahoma City and Bricktown. Some of the elements of the new brand—including the Dodgers script and the famous “shooting ball”—have been associated with the Dodgers since 1938. The team’s new home jerseys mirror the current home jerseys of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the home hat is styled after the old Brooklyn Dodgers’ hats.
All of the new elements were developed by the Los Angeles Dodgers’ graphic design team.
“We didn’t just want to slap ‘Oklahoma City’ over an existing Dodgers logo and call it a day,” said Ross Yoshida, Los Angeles Dodgers Director of Graphic Design. “We wanted to tailor the Dodger brand to something that people in Oklahoma City could take pride in, hence elements like the homage to Bricktown on the primary logo and the SkyDance Bridge patch on the home uniforms.”
All new design elements are available to see at the team’s website, okcdodgers.com.