After months of speculation, it seems that an announcement on a name for the Las Vegas NHL expansion franchise will be made next month. The name will include Knights, according to team owner Bill Foley.
For the last few months, it has been apparent that Foley and his group will introduce the complete branding–name, logo, colors, .etc–in one major announcement. Given the hype that is already surrounding the Las Vegas franchise, that reveal should draw plenty of coverage.
In an unsurprising development, the team’s name will feature a variation on Knights. Silver Knights was already known to be one of the names registered by the ownership group, and it is believed that Golden Knights and Desert Knights are also registered. Previous indications were that Foley would pursue the name Black Knights, an homage to the United States Army. However, some early criticism led to Foley pursuing a different name for the franchise, something he explained in a recent appearance on Sportsbook Radio. More from Sportsnet:
The 71-year-old businessman originally has his heart set on naming his franchise the Black Knights, due to his connections with the United States Army. He is the chairman of Black Knight Financial Services, and he heads Black Knights Sports and Entertainment, the management group which owns the Vegas franchise.
There was an immediate backlash from fans who were hoping for something a little more creative, which played a part in Foley going for something else.
“There was a little too much push back and frankly Army got worried about us using the name Black Knights and I didn’t want to fight that battle” said Foley.
The NHL franchise will officially launch for the 2017-18 season at T-Mobile Arena.
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