The former Bloomington Thunder (USHL) have completed a major rebranding effort, as the club is now known as the Central Illinois Flying Aces.
Late last month, the Thunder revealed that they renaming themselves the Flying Aces as part of a rebranding process. The new name, which is taking effect in time for the 2017-18 USHL season, was announced after it had been reported that the organization was likely to make a drastic change to its identity.
More elements of the new branding were unveiled earlier this week, and were done so in an interesting fashion. The Flying Aces used Bloomington’s Labor Day Parade as an opportunity to reveal new jerseys and color schemes, as members of the organization took part in the parade. More from The Pantagraph:
“We wanted to make this reveal as memorable of a moment as possible because it really signified the start of our new chapter as the Flying Aces,” said Brendan Kelly, the team’s chief operating officer. “To be able to do this in Bloomington at such a big event for the city is really symbolic of how we want our identity to become an integral part of the community — both here and throughout Central Illinois.”
While the fourth-year USHL club adopted its new moniker on Aug. 24, the organization’s visual identity had remained under wraps. The parade offered an opportunity to showcase the new designs.
“This was such an awesome experience to be in front of so many people and let them all be part of this,” said first-year head coach Mike Watt. “This community has become very special to me since I moved here two years ago with my wife Niki and our two kids. It’s our home and this team’s home, and I don’t think there was a better way to show that we’re committed to being here than this.”
The franchise will play its first regular season game as the Flying Aces on October 7, with the home opener at Grossinger Motors Arena scheduled for October 13.
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