CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Indians search for a new name and identity has concluded according to a report from Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com and the Plain Dealer, however it is unclear when the change will be unveiled.
In a response to 92.3 The Fan, the Indians declined to comment on the story.
The team has remained tight-lipped throughout the process and that did not change following Hoynes' story hitting the internet.
Last summer the franchise began a review of their current brand and in December announced they concluded the time had come for a change in the wake of a social justice movement with the team name being deemed to possess a racist overtone.
The review by Cleveland's baseball club came after Washington's NFL franchise dropped Redskins are their name and are scheduled to unveil a new brand in 2022. The NFL franchise, which is retaining its historic color scheme, continues to operate as The Washington Football Team in the interim.
Indians owner Paul Dolan has been adamant that the franchise would not opt for a temporary generic name and would retain the current name until a new one was found.
The Indians dropped their controversial Chief Wahoo logo from their uniforms and team branding at the end of the 2018 season at the behest of Major League Baseball and elevated the ‘block C’ mark to replace it.
Over the past few months, the organization had been vetting prospective names for the club, founded in 1901 and a charter member of the American League.
The vetting process is tedious and includes trademark registration checks and legal clearance. Once the name is decided upon, branding work begins including logos, wordmarks and of course uniforms.
While team officials have not said of the plan is to retain the current red, white and blue color scheme, it would not be surprising to see them do so. Fans were asked in a survey earlier this year for their thoughts on the team's current colors and the thought of keeping them, but they were not asked for name suggestions.
Some of the fan favorites on social media include Guardians, Blues, Buckeyes, Commodores and Spiders among dozens of other suggestions.
During an update on the impending change earlier this summer the team said that over 1,000 names were initially considered before the paring down process began after consulting with local leaders and influencers about what the rebrand should embody and embrace.
