Tuesday, August 11, 2009

United Football League Introduces California Redwoods as Team Name & Unveils Uniforms

UFL News

At a press conference today, United Football League Commissioner Michael Huyghue announced the California franchise will be named the Redwoods and unveiled innovative team uniforms showcasing the Redwoods’ “Premiere” season colors of green, blue and white. The name “Redwoods” was selected after more than thirty thousand fan entries and interpretation from industry experts and an in-house creative team on what attributes the fans were seeking with their submissions. California Redwoods Owner Paul Pelosi was also in attendance at the press event.

“It was critical for us to select team names that we felt best reflected the local community while simultaneously defining the personality of the team,” said Commissioner Huyghue. “The Redwoods, large, strong trees native to California, symbolize many traits that the UFL and the California franchise plan to embody. The Redwoods and the UFL are reaching for the stars and are eco-friendly.”

Redwoods’ owner Paul Pelosi wanted his team’s name to possess attributes that signified strength, respected the environment and suggested growth opportunities.

Previously, the UFL announced Miami-based GameWear Team Sports as the League’s official uniform supplier. GameWear Team Sports is one of the leading athletic uniform outfitters in the country and has worked extensively in growing the sport of football on the grassroots level. Award-winning designer Ron Caruso of Purepartner created all the teams’ uniforms using derivatives of the official League logo for all the designs while making each one distinctive.

“The inspiration for the “Premiere” season uniform design comes directly from the UFL shield and its foundation colors which represent “green grass”, “blue sky” and silver for innovation,” said Caruso. “Throughout the uniforms, we used the dimensional “arc” of the shield on the chest and supporting “arcs” on the sleeves and pants. The unique font of the numbers reinforces the shield’s classic bold typeface with angles and dimensional treatments conveying depth and motion. The four uniform designs work together in a unified branded system, providing manufacturing efficiencies while allowing each team to retain its own unique and differentiated character.”

Yesterday, the United Football League introduced the Las Vegas Locomotives at a press event. Similar events will be held in Orlando on Wednesday and in New York on Thursday. Photos of each of the team’s uniforms will be available on the League’s website, www.ufl-football.com, along with video from the press events.

“We are extremely pleased with the names selected for all of our teams and the overall “Premiere” season uniform design,” said Frank Vuono, COO of the UFL. “Name selection for a new sports franchise can be an arduous process having to take into account the disqualification of many great possibilities due to trademark and copyright issues. There was a team of experts headed up by Jeff Sofka of Bendigo Co., and included Charley Inc., GameWear Team Sports, Purepartner, and many others who assisted in the name selection and uniform design processes and we are grateful for all of their hard work.”

The UFL launched its Name the Team Campaign with the redesign of its website in February. From that time, more than thirty thousand entries were submitted. Fans who submitted the selected names will be notified and given the appropriate credit.

Coach Dennis Green who was unable to be in attendance at the press conference due to a previous commitment gave the name high marks. “The true measure of success for a football team is how we produce on the field. The UFL’s success will also be measured in how we connect with the fans in our community. With the Redwoods’ name, we are showcasing our plan to firmly set roots in the community and our desire to cultivate this team into a successful franchise.”

The California Redwoods’ first game of the season will be in Las Vegas on October 8th. The Redwoods’ first home game will be on Saturday, October 17 at AT&T Park against the Florida franchise. Tickets go on-sale tomorrow and can be purchased by calling Tickets.com at 800.225.2277 or logging onto www.tickets.com.