Omaha Rename

As most of you know the Omaha Royals have changed their AAA stadium and team name. I was a season ticketholder last season because of the announcement of the move to the new stadium in Sarpy county which is going to be about 5 minutes from my house in La Vista. Obviously by that rationale I was heavily in favor of the move away from Rosenblatt and biased to it being in Sarpy county but now I'm warming up to the new identity also.

Rosenblatt for all the nostalgia and history behind it was old and full of inconveniences. It wasn't in a greatest part of town(not terrible), it had extremely small walk ways which was ridiculous when there was a large crowd, crappy parking, the distance was too far away from the majority of families in the area(target market). While having a new stadium for the College World Series probably wasn't that needed by the city and keeping the CWS contract just yet it was needed for AAA baseball to survive in Omaha longterm.

As part of that longterm plan some unwanted changes were going to have to happen. When I first heard that management was going to have a vote to change the name I thought to myself why change the name at all and I hope Golden Spikes isn't a nominee. I knew though that merchandise sales is one of only a couple revenue streams that minor league teams have to survive and tying their string to a team whose major league affiliate has been a joke for awhile wasn't a good thing longterm. I knew they needed a name that was local (not much midwest is known for other than changing weather) and one that would increase sales. Really the wackier name the better but being that Omaha and Nebraska in general is about as crazy as a morman convention I knew a name similar to the Flying Squirrels was never gonna happen. So I reveal to you the new jerseys and hats for the Storm Chasers.





Not too much to get excited about I doubt fans are going to rush out to buy these primary jerseys as I've never thought blue and gray was that great of color combo. Kids should like the hats but the C in Chasers reminds me more of a ocean wave than something to do with a storm. Hopefully the color scheme and logos are going to be tweaked into something more like the alternative jerseys and hats that they have already released and they are just taking their time to convert people away from the old Omaha Royal colors.





I know the staff in Omaha lead by Martie Cordaro know what they are doing and don't need advice from me but I'm going to give it anyway. Take two trips to see how teams do things. Make one to Wilmington Delaware and copy what the Blue Rocks do with their team and fans. Its true family excitement and wackiness their promos are some of the best in the business. Also go to the Dominican and hire these girls. WOW !





Next Up: Royal minor league roster predictions.