UPDATE (9:18 AM, 8/12/2016) : The original source of this article is now backing off these three names.
Team confirmed our list last night, now hearing LasVegas has eliminated all 3 Hawks names & chosen something else. Didn’t like fan response?
— Chris Creamer (@sportslogosnet) August 12, 2016
UPDATE (2:55 PM, 8/12/2016) : Now this from Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review Journal.
Just talked to Bill Foley. Says report that all “Hawks” names are out is erroneous. Said “Nighthawks” remain very much in play. Story 2 come
— Steve Carp (@stevecarprj) August 12, 2016
Here’s the accompanying story to the Carp tweet.
So to sum this all up… the team name is one of these three, wait no it isn’t, but maybe it is. Thanks for visiting SinBin.vegas!
According to a report from the world guru on logos and team names, Chris Creamer of Sportslogos.net, the Las Vegas NHL team will be named Nighthawks, Desert Hawks, or Red Hawks.
There are three names the team appears to be moving forward with: the Desert Hawks, the Red Hawks, and the Nighthawks. These names were all registered as several different domain names by Black Knight IP Holding Company, LLC, the company owned by Las Vegas hockey owner Bill Foley within the last few weeks. -Chris Creamer
The Creator confirmed he had a teleconference with Adidas and the NHL yesterday and that he would know the name.
We have a video conference tomorrow with the NHL and Adidas. So I should have a good feeling of what the name’s going to be tomorrow.
No one is going to know the name but me. -The Creator on August 9th
In 2016, it’s unrealistic to think one man, even someone as powerful as him, would be the only person to know the name of the team. With the fact that a color scheme must be selected, logos designed, T-Shirts, hats and other gear printed, the simple fact of the matter is others have to know to prepare for the unveiling ceremony.
Nighthawks certainly seems to make sense, but as referenced in the SportsLogos.net article, the Chicago Blackhawks may not love this name.
SinBin.vegas has not been able to confirm or deny this report. We are working to do so at this time.
UPDATE (11:05 PM, 8/11/16): The Creator has confirmed the team did indeed purchase domain names related to these three names, we do not however believe that is a direct indicator that the name is among the three.
Mickey B
No way Chicago will let this happen. They blocked KC back in their infancy when they wanted to name the team the MO-Hawks (MO as the abbreviation for Missouri) and that’s why they changed the name to the Scouts.
Hard to believe those are the only options anyways. Scorpions or Vipers are much better selections.
Ken Boehlke
We are pretty deep in the process at this point.
Vipers was ruled out when Foley said “no snake names.”
Mickey B
True. I was using those names just as examples of something original that would work quite well. I find it hard to imagine anything with “hawks” would even be in the mix.
Michael Perfetto
I’m down with that. I like Red Hawks, but it sounds too much like Red Sox. Nighthawks is the best fit. They’re common to the area and it’s a way to keep “night” in the name. Plus, they’re a very cool-looking, little bird and stealthy.
Sin City Hockey Fan
I just googles Las Vegas Nighthawks and found this Jersey Concept.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/73479252@N04/6812113501/sizes/l
Sin City Hockey Fan
Googled, not googles. Not sure about this design, but thought people would like to see it.
James
I didn’t see that coming. I never thought it would have been a viable option for obvious reasons. Probably the best team to emulate. The Chicago Blackhawks have arguably the best team name and sweaters in the NHL.
James
It’s hard to imagine that Red Hawks will be chosen. The team would also have to adopt the colour red. The red Chicago Blackhawks sweater is iconic.
The Las Vegas Nighthawks could use Bill Foley’s preferred colours of black, gold and grey. The fact that the Chicago Blackhawks don’t have a bird as their logo might help the Las Vegas Nighthawks cause.
JAY T
Three titles in seven years and now they’re iconic? Take it easy, they played in an empty arena before 2009.
Jeff G.
Another option could be Knighthawks instead of Nighthawks.
A Fan
As I mentioned earlier in another post on here today when someone mentioned how about Nighthawks, before this report came out on SinBin. (maybe he had seen the sportslogo.net story already) I can’t see how or why they would want a ‘Hawks’ name? With the Blackhawks calling themselves the ‘Hawks’ what would our team nickname be then? And the new name for the NCAA North Dakota champion hockey team this year is the Fighting Hawks. (The NCAA made them drop the Fighting Sioux name)
I understand that most have never heard of the word Peregrines (I hadn’t either) and it would take some time for people to get used to, but before long it would be just another word we all say with ease. The 3 Hawks names mentioned make us sound like we couldn’t come up with anything original (like Peregrines) or that we’re a minor league team for the Blackhawks. I wonder if this story is credible, or if someone planted something out there to throw us all off track so Mr. Foley will still be able to make it a surprise announcement.
A Fan
I know we’re all crazy about what the name will be, but there hasn’t been much talk about team colors. There is no reason we would have to have the colors talked about for Mr. Foley’s ‘Black Knights’ name, that name is thankfully dead, so should the colors be.
We need some colors that stand out, like the Philadelphia Flyers orange. Whether you like or dislike orange, there is no doubt what team/fans are wearing those jerseys/t-shirts when you see them. If we had a color that ‘pops’ like that, imagine the T-Mobile arena as a sea of that color! I sure hope the colors aren’t dull and kind of boring. I’ll be a fan no matter what, but why not do it right from the start.
Bagman
I just found this, and my mind just got blow. What if Nighthawk is not a reference to the bird?…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-117_Nighthawk
T
So they would be ripping off the Blackhawks AND the Jets… Much better.
James
@Bagman
Some fans will bash the team for imitating the Chicago Blackhawks and the Winnipeg Jets.
The Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox coexist in the American League. There are more similarities between the primary and alternate logos. I wouldn’t rule Nighthawks out.
James
@ A Fan
The Philadelphia Flyers orange colours pay homage to The University of Texas. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bill Foley follows suit by honouring his alma mater with black, gold and grey. However it does sound like he’s listening to colour suggestions from Adidas. Mr. Foley’s favourite colour is green, so I think he will be more flexible when it comes to team colours.
I think the team name impacts the team colours. For arguments sake let’s say Las Vegas Nighthawks is the chosen name. What colours would you select? Black seems like an obvious choice. I love the Brooklyn Nets black & white team colours and logos.
A Fan
Black, gold and grey doesn’t sound like colors with much ‘pop.’ Mostly black & white sounds like down the road, soon to be rivals the LA Kings. If it is Nighthawks, it could really be many different color combos, the main color wouldn’t have to be black just because the word ‘night’ is in the name.
Ed
Should be something common to Las Vegas. Something like the Las Vegas Casinos or
the Las Vegas Blackjacks or the Las Vegas High Rollers or the Las Vegas Knight Rollers — something Las Vegas is noted for !!!!!!
JAY T
Using hawk in the name is lame and tacky so I hope you’re joking.
Speaking of tacky, take it easy on The Creator this, The Creator that. You may worship him but Foley is not God.
Ken Boehlke
Welcome to SinBin.vegas.
sparky chewbarky
Take a deep breath folks…
These names are not the final names…
Mr. Foley was definite on Tuesday that there were 4 names under consideration.
Where’s the 4th name?…
How are any of these names a “win” for Foley?
The “(K)Nighthawks” won’t be referred to as the “(K)Nights”,
Just like the Toronto “Blue Jays” weren’t referred to as the “Blues”
(like their owners, Labatt’s (brewers of Labatt’s blue) had hoped.
These domain names were purchased by Foley’s team, but there’s 2 more purchases to be announced…(for a total of WTF 5!)
The plot thickens….
James Martin
I support the team be called the Nighthawks.
James Martin
I like the team name The Las Vegas Nighthawks!
Mickey B
Anything with “hawks” just comes off as lazy. I really hope that they steer away from all of those picks because they are awful. This isn’t something where they can have a mulligan either, so they really should listen to some of the feedback they are getting on this.
So many other great choices off of the Nevada wildlife animal lists. Mustangs, Cougars, Scorpions, Peregrines, etc.
James
Just been rereading Bill Foley’s quote. If you take him at face value, it appears that the ‘hawk’ was the one particular animal, a bird he was referring to;
“But the name is going to have … Knights somewhere in some fashion, some way. Or, there’s one particular animal, a bird, that we have available to us that we might use.”
Nighthawks could also fit the ‘Knights somewhere in some fashion, some way’ description.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Silver Knights and Neon Knights were the two other options.
Michael Perfetto
How about Las Vegas Flood? We already have Thunder, Lightning, Avalanche and Heat.
Michael Perfetto
I left off the Hurricanes, Storm and Earthquakes.
Mickey B
Well, knew that would be the case. I’m sure the Chicago folks simply giggled and went “um…no” and that was that.
Someone from your source article had a name that I haven’t seen in any lists up until now and I think it’s a great one: Pioneers. That name fits this club in so many ways, even from a military angle. Shame it is too late to get that one in the suggestion box.
James
@Mickey B
I get the impression that Nighthawks is going to be the team name but I think the aircraft could be the inspiration, not the bird. Bill Foley is a military man.
The primary user of the F-117 Nighthawk was the United States Air Force.
Just been reading up on Bill Foley. Foley served in the U.S. Air Force, where he attained the rank of Captain. His dad was a career air force man. This might be a reach, but Foley and his wife met in the late 1960s when she was a United Airlines flight attendant.
Having the F-117 Nighthawk as the logo would honour the U.S. Air Force, Las Vegas & Foley’s family tree.
A Black, gold and gray colour scheme would honour the Army and the Common nighthawk bird who has similar colours, anthor tip of the cap to Las Vegas. The ‘Night’ in Nighthawk would also loosely honour the Army.
Tom
Whatever they go with, I pray black gold and gray isn’t s part if it. I mean really we have 2 other teams with similar schemes already. They say Foley had the final say but I hope Adidas pumps the brakes on that idea. I don’t even care if it’s Silver Knights anymore. Screw it I just wanna know, but lime Tom Petty said the waiting is the hardest part.
Mickey B
@James
Based on earlier news today though, it appears anything with “hawks” in the name is a no go.
Hoping Cougars, Mustangs or Scorpions are part of the 2 secret options. Checks the box on something to do with the region and would be perfect for marketing purposes…plus, for the military tie in, they were all types of fighter aircraft back in the day.
Michael
This report has been an interesting exercise in how the media works. Foley buys some websites, which could have even been purchased before the names were narrowed down to four (lasvegasnighthawks.com for example, was bought back in early July), sportslogos say that these could potentially be the last three names (which is a fair statement technically), and before you know it, every other outlet is reporting that ‘Here are the final three names’. Lazy journalism of the highest order. At least Ken always has the sense to state whether a report is speculative, unconfirmed, etc, rather than jumping on the bandwagon based on someone else’s report…
Ken Boehlke
I hoped I made it as clear as I could that I didn’t truly believe this report had turned up the final name.
It’s a great source as SportsLogos.net is well respected, but their process wasn’t going to turn up a 100% result.
On this site we will always offer up the most up to date information out there. We then offer up our beliefs on the report.
Michael
Hey Ken – I was certainly not criticizing you or sportslogos. I thought their report was clear, and you were clear about the situation. I just found it interesting how many media outlets have rushed to say ‘These are definitely the final three names’, without any kind of confirmation from the team.
Ken Boehlke
I appreciate your support of the site and I thank you for being one of the level headed ones who actually read what I put out and not ignore the word report and just run with “Name chosen, one of these three”
Michael
No problem Ken. You actually seem unusual in the media in that you are very clear about what is being said, and whether it is confirmed or not. Most outlets seems to just take a few facts and run with them!
Ken Boehlke
Best compliment you could ever pay me, unusual in the media. Thanks!!!
James
@Mickey B
I read the news after I pressed send. To be honest, I’m glad to be totally wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Nighthawks name. It wouldn’t look out of place amongst the original six teams, but Bill Foley & co missed the boat by about 90 years. How could they get it so wrong? There is even a tribe called the Red Hawks. Do you really want to open that can of worms? The front office moves have been on point so far. The fact that they seriously considered these 3 names doesn’t fill me with confidence. They opened themselves up to ridicule by imitating the Blackhawks and Red Wings. At least they admitted their mistake. A name the team contest would have produced 3 better finalists.
Must do better.
James
@Michael
The report nailed 3 of the 5 team names being considered. If it wasn’t for the report we might have been stuck with this abomination of a team name. The fans have spoken. I hate to say it, but the season ticket holders voice’s should have been heard earlier with a name the team contest. Afterall, it’s the fans who will be buying the merchandise. The fact that those 3 team names were seriously considered was an error in judgement. A name the team contest would have produced 3 better team names, and it wouldn’t have cost Mr. Foley a dime.
Michael
@James
Yes, I agree that the original report was fair enough – I was commenting on how the rest of the media outlets jumped on it and turned it into “These are the final three names”, especially as Foley had said four a couple of days before, and all three of the names could have been the one bird he was talking about prior.
Good points on the general ineptitude in naming the team. I think we have all heard about a thousand suggestions by now as everyone has an opinion, but a fan vote would have clarified those opinions into actual evidence for the team to use. I have heard it said again and again that Foley can name the team what he wants, as he bought them, but that is kind of like saying it doesn’t matter if a sandwich shop calls their signature sandwich ‘The Turd’, as they bought the sandwich shop.
I mean, they still want customers to connect, right?
It’s not like they won’t still have fans strongly supporting them with whatever lame name they may choose, but breaking a promise to have a fan vote is a poor way to begin your relationship with your customers.
Mickey B
@James
Agree with absolutely everything you mentioned in both of your last posts. Well said.
Tom
I kinda liked Nighthawks. More than Silver Knights anyways. When I noticed that there wasn’t an option to comment on the article, that’s when I knew that Ken didn’t think it was a lock and probably didn’t want us all to get carried away lol. Way to stay on top of it Ken. Your website is a blessing man. You have no idea how many times a day I would scour Google for any LV hockey updates before I heard of Sinbin. Thanks for staying on top of everything. I wish we could get our team name a little quicker than September. Growing up here I never imagined we’d ever have our own team. I really hope they don’t screw this up. And if they do pick a lousy name, I hope they at least come up with a kick-ass jersey/color scheme to make us forget about said lousy name.
Tom
@Mickey B
I like Mustangs but Cougars just make me think of 40-something year old hot chicks.
A Fan
I’m pretty sure that a few days ago when I pulled up LVmustangs.com online, it went to a local junior baseball team, now it’s a google parked page. LasVegasMustangs.com is for sale. I wonder…
I’ve been saying that Mustangs is the best name for some time now, but it hasn’t really come up much, but maybe it’s the ‘surprise’ name Mr. Foley ends up giving us. *fingers crossed*
nick
It must be Silver Knights, only widely accepted name he liked going back 2 years ago. In fact we expected it after knights ruled out. Silver Knights, calling it!
James
@Tom
The Chicago Blackhawks are known as the Hawks. The Las Vegas Nighthawks would also be known as the Hawks. I like the name, but this town ain’t big enough for the both of us.
I agree with nick. I think the team will be named the Las Vegas Silver Knights, but will be known as the Knights.
I disagree with Silver Knights being the only widely accepted name he liked going back 2 years ago. Foley didn’t exactly give it a glowing endorsement when he spoke to the media.
I’m not tech savvy, so I don’t know how he will be able to purchase the domain name without paying a king’s ransom.
James
I give up!!
Steve Carp
@stevecarprj
Just talked to Bill Foley. Says report that all “Hawks” names are out is erroneous. Said “Nighthawks” remain very much in play. Story 2 come
Ken Boehlke
Just updated the story to include this. This process might be worse than the Expansion process. At least I knew what the eventual outcome would be on that, this we literally have no clue.
James S
I think the team should be called The Nevada Nighthawks.
Tom
@A Fan,
Mustangs is perfect. My favorite movie as a kid was Youngblood, and the name of the team on theovie was the Hamilton Mustangs. I always thought it was a strong name for a team. I also assumed it was trademarked early in the game and was most likely one of the names that Foley wasn’t prepared to pay a ransom for. Bit if any name is ransom-worthy it’s Mustangs. Too good to be true I’m afraid.
Mickey B
Huh? Hawks are still in play? It has to be alive just to throw off the scent. Right?
I’m with James – I give up too. At this point, I don’t care if they call themselves the Flying Dorm Fridges or the Electric Strawberries or Insert Team Name Here. (not actual finalists, as far as I know)
Ken Boehlke
This is the official Sinbin.vegas stance too. We’ll keep reporting the news, but I don’t care if they name it the Las Vegas SinBin.vegas Blows, I’ll just be happy it’s over.
Mickey B
Agreed. I really hope this whole thing is a ploy and Mr. Foley has a gem of a name picked out and it’s one of the 2 secret choices. But this whole process has been very strange to say the least.
Michael Marstellar
Las Vegas Horsemen
Michael Marstellar
Having another team says this sounds intimidating: “We’re playin the Horsemen tonight!”
Tom
@James,
I don’t know why but I feel like the Hawks and the Nighthawks can co exist. It would be a given that the Nighthawks could never be shortened to Hawks and life would go on. I hate Chicago anyways so maybe that’s why I don’t care how they feel about it. But from what Fey says in the latest interview, there isn’t any push back from the league or Chicago about naming the team Nighthawks.
Tom
*From what Foley says
Typo
James
@Tom
I saw a tweet saying the Nighthawk bird is native to everywhere in the US but Vegas
Does this revelation change your mind?
The Florida panther is an endangered subspecies of cougar that lives in forests and swamps of southern Florida in the United States.
The New Orleans Pelicans team name is inspired by Louisiana’s state bird, the brown pelican.
etc.
Michael
Interesting side note to play advocate for Nighthawks. The NHL, somewhat surprisingly, does not have any flying bird teams currently. Penguins don’t fly, Red Wings are not named after a bird, and the Blackhawks are a tribe. So the shortened version – especially when playing the Hawks could be simply ‘Birds’.
Bret
The Blackhawks are not a tribe. Never were.
The name comes from the first owner of the hockey franchise. His military unit was called the Black Hawks. The unit was named after Black Hawk. Black Hawk was a man, not a tribe. He was a leader within a part of the Sauk tribe. Black Hawk had many battles with other tribes and the US military. For good reason, he didn’t think the treaty which pushed his group of the Rock River in Illinois applied to him. He fought back when US troops tried to eliminate him. It went poorly for Black Hawk. His people, including many women and children, were massacred. He was jailed. He was then paraded around cities in the East to show how the US Military had subdued the frontier and it’s safe for settlement. After being held for a few years, Black Hawk adapted some Western ways, said nice things about the US, and was held up as a “noble savage” in the era of yellow journalism. The logo of the hockey team was an attempt by the first owner’s wife to draw a “noble savage” caricature (hence it’s a Sauk mixed with George Washington) that has been edited slightly over the years.
The Blackhawks are a racist caricature and stereotype. Their sweater continues to be an embarrassment to the sport.
There is a movement gaining ground to change it to an actual bird. We’ll see how long that takes.
A Fan
Well the NCAA managed to finally take away the Champion North Dakota Fighting Sioux name and Indian head logo. It looked similar to the Blackhawks, only better. They are now know as the Fighting Hawks. I doubt the NHL will make the Blackhawks change their logo anytime soon.
James S
What about the team being called the Vegas Vultures after the bird of prey.
James
@Michael
I would be more bullish for Nighthawks if the common nighthawk bird was Nevada’s state bird, but apparently it has little to do with Las Vegas.
You might as well go with ‘Las Vegas Stealth’ if you want the F-117 Nighthawk as the logo. And avoid the imitation controversy.
Tom
@James
Nighthawks are found everywhere, including Nevada. I’ve lived in Vegas most of my life and the most common bird isn’t a nighthawk, it’s a pigeon. Still it’s not to say they don’t exist out here, maybe not a whole lot in the city. I bet we have more nighthawks than Pennsylvania has penguins. So no, it doesn’t really change my opinion. It isn’t my first choice though. I’m digging the Mustangs. I wonder if Foley realizes how awesome of a name it is. Maybe if someone is holding the name for ransom he should buy it. I heard it may be a minor league name somewhere but that shouldn’t make a difference. And there’s always the Peregrines, who have gotta be the most badass bird alive. Still like Nighthawks over Silver Knights.
A Fan
@Tom – Whoever owns LasVegasMustangs.com must read this blog. Today there was a little chatter about the Mustangs name here and earlier today LasVegasMustangs.com was listed for sale on GoDaddy for $250, now it’s just a parked page on GoDaddy. As I mentioned before, LVmustangs.com I’m pretty sure earlier this week went to a local junior baseball team, now it’s a parked page on GoDaddy. Does this all mean anything…don’t know. But I sure hope Mr. Foley is aware of this name, as it’s definitely the best of them all.
James
@Tom
Youngblood was also one of my favourite movies as a kid. I love the name Mustangs, but I’ve come to the realisation that the name is going to have Knights somewhere in some fashion, some way. This makes Nighthawks a very real possibility.
On the positive side, it’s a way to avoid the 4 word team name. The 4 word team name appears to be very unpopular amongst the fan base. Perhaps the team name doesn’t have to have a deep meaning. Peregrines had a deep meaning, but I think Nighthawks sounds better. It’s kind of ironic that the team would imitate the Blackhawks. The last time I checked the strip had a replica of the Eiffel Tower.
With that being said, I wouldn’t be shocked if Mr. Foley changed course. Naming the team has been a roller coaster ride.
A Fan
@James – Yes, it shouldn’t be a 4 word name. And yes I agree Mustangs is the best name overall. If they are serious about the NightHawks name, it makes me wonder why just yesterday (Aug 12) it appears a domain speculator bought LasVegasKnightHawks.com – Even though the name would be NightHawks, for $15 they should have bought this name also to protect themselves if they are seriously considering NightHawks. I guess there wouldn’t be a nickname for the team with NightHawks. PereGrines is a unique name and I think a good potential name, but Mr. Foley must have issues with it being a name that is hard to pronounce/spell, etc. And it has been a team name roller coaster ride for sure.
Dwayne Lucyk
Since Nevada is widely known as the “siLVer state” (welcome signs at the state borders say so) and the middle letters of siLVer are LV, a good logo designer should have no problem designing a sensible logo highlighting and making the LV vibrant and standout more than the other letters for at least a third jersey down the road. Thus, if a color is chosen, it would be very appropriate for it to be siLVer, especially if siLVer Knights is still in play or how about siLVerados, (Chevrolet would like that free advertising), siLVerbacks (since prefered colors are black, grey, and gold similar to a male gorilla), siLVer Miners (historical when mining silver drove the Nevada economy), siLVer 17’s (modern numerical), siLVer Tigers (Siegfried and Roy), siLVer Bills (Bill Foley legacy), siLver (grey) Hounds (homage to Elvis Presley hound dog song) siLVer Sonics, or just siLVers (just like the Blues of St. Louis).