Solar Bears unveil new jersey design

ORLANDO, FLA. – Blue and white have been the predominant colors of professional sports in Orlando for the last decade because they are the primary colors of the Orlando Magic NBA team. Tuesday night, the City Beautiful took on a purple and teal with a pinch of orange look. At an invitation-only event, the Orlando Solar Bears made the next significant step in the building of its ECHL franchise by unveiling its home and road jerseys to an audience of approximately 175 fans, politicians, and business leaders. The unveiling was also used as the premiere of the team’s “I am a Solar Bear” ad campaign that features fans and local celebrities modeling the new jerseys. “Honor the past (with) something that we thought was stylish,” Solar Bears Managing Partner and President Jason Siegel said about the decisions on the jersey designs. “We added a couple different touches. It’s not until you see the final product and you look at it all come together. We’re pleased.” Former Solar Bears Allan Bester and Bob Joyce provided a clear link to the past, modeling the home and road jerseys for the crowd and media that convened at The Abbey near downtown Orlando. The new ownership had vowed to maintain a clear vision of the successful past of the Solar Bears while carving out its own story and bringing back the two former players certainly was a good opening chapter. “Since the IHL folded originally, I’ve thought they’ve (Solar Bears) got to come back. There was just too much fan support here. It’s too great a city,” Bester, who played for the Solar Bears from 1995-1998, said. “You can get any player you want to come play here. It’s just the best place to play.” Bester, who stayed in the area after his career and now serves as Sales Manager at the Royal Plaza at the Walt Disney Resort, said he was more than willing to help the new team come out of hibernation. “I was very excited when I heard they were coming back,” he said. “I actually contacted the organization and said if you need me for anything, whatever you want me to do, if it’s promotions, if it’s dropping the puck, I’m in. It’s great to be a part of it.” Joyce also stayed in the area, becoming the Director of Flight Operations at Aeroism Flight Academy. He fondly remembered his days in Orlando during the 1995-1996 and 1996-1997 seasons. “It was a wonderful time. The city really welcomed the players. It (the old Orlando Arena which was demolished less than a month ago) was a beautiful facility and now of course they have the new Amway Center which is out of this world,” he said. “As a hockey player, people all think we want to be in the cold and snow. We spend enough of that time on the ice getting our cold fix. To be here with all the other things you get to do along with playing hockey, it was a really wonderful time.” Breaking out the star power from the start, Paul Porter, the arena voice of the Magic and the Tampa Bay Lightning played emcee for the event. He brought out Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer who thanked the new ownership group for coming in and “making a substantial impact on the community” in the short time since the franchise’s introduction in November. He also thanked RDV Sports, the owners of the previous Solar Bears team, for its cooperation in restoring the Solar Bears name to the Orlando sports scene. Then Managing Partner Joe Haleski, Managing Partner and C.O.O. Bob Ohrablo and Siegel presented jerseys to Magic C.E.O. Alex Martins, Orlando Venues Director Allen Johnson and Mayor Dyer for their assistance in getting the Solar Bears off the ground. The home jersey uses what the team calls the primary alternate logo – in this case a bear head wearing sunglasses with the sun in the background – on a white base. On the shoulders is the team’s third logo, a bear paw within the sun. Along the arms and underarms, the original franchise’s trademark teal and purple appear. The road jersey uses the primary logo – the head and torso of Shades the team mascot, holding a hockey stick behind its neck. Shades appears in front of the sun and has the team name or word mark in purple and teal highlighted in white and yellow beneath. The purple arm stripe is traded out for a white stripe that goes with the teal one that is consistent with both sweaters. Each jersey uses orange piping to mark the shoulder area. Many of the people in attendance go back to the days when the original Solar Bears played in the IHL and won the last Turner Cup before the league disbanded. One of them was Scott McKenzie, who was the original public address announcer during those IHL days. McKenzie, who hosts “The Morning Mix” on WOMX-FM (Mix 105.1) in Orlando, said that he thinks that the fans in Orlando will once again prove that the city deserves to have a team. “Enough time has passed and Orlando shows that they can support (a hockey team). They always did. It was a problem with the league and things like that the last go round,” he said. “This time, we’re very excited to see hockey in a brand new building and I know they’re going to do it right.” McKenzie said that the new jerseys paid proper tribute to the old franchise while acknowledging that the ECHL Solar Bears are starting a new era. “It’s homage to what we had and it still keeps that Florida feel. It just captures hockey for what Orlando is to hockey,” McKenzie said. “What they’ve done with the jersey is again an homage to where we were and then taken it to the future. I like it a lot.” Bester said that at first he was not sure about the change in the logos and jersey but that after seeing it, he thinks the new ownership made the right move. “At first I thought they needed to keep it the same because it’s the Solar Bears, it can’t be changed. They’ve made some changes to it and I think it’s for the better,” he said. “It’s a new team, a new organization, a new league. They need a new logo but it still keeps enough of the old Solar Bears in the logo that keeps that original team intact. I think it’s a great updated version.” Five year old Jayden Belinger of nearby Sanford, Florida was chosen by the Solar Bears staff as the grand prize winner of the photo contest. Her face will be used in print advertising in the Orlando Sentinel newspaper and Orlando Magazine as well as on collateral marketing materials. Fourteen other fans along with local celebrities will see their faces on billboards advertising the Solar Bears as well in web, print and in-arena ads at the Amway Center.

Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at garry.shorter@prohockeynews.com