Wednesday evening in front of a packed Grand Ballroom at the Amarillo Civic Center, local hockey fans and media members were introduced to the club's new name and logo. The Amarillo Gorillas will take to the ice this October, replacing the Rattlers name and logo that had been in place since the 1996/1997 season. The name Gorillas was chosen from more than 1,000 entries submitted by hockey fans across the Panhandle. Local resident Cathy Sechrist is the contest's winner, picking up two season tickets.

Team executives were on hand for the announcement and the unveiling of the new logo, which was aired live locally by three television stations. The logo features a powerful black and silver gorilla emerging from "The Jungle", which will become the nickname for the team's home at the Civic Center.

The logo was designed by Massive Graphics of Norman, Oklahoma, who also handled the re-design of the CHL's Tulsa Oilers logo for the 1999/2000 season. Massive Graphics provides licensed apparel for numerous organizations, including the Central and American Hockey Leagues, as well as the Arena Football and Arena Football2 Leagues.

Officials from Hockey Sports of Amarillo were thrilled with the reaction to the new name and logo. "It was a slam dunk decision because of the energy, excitement and marketability the name brings," said ownership group spokesperson Terry Hawthorne. "There was so much emotion in a meeting with ownership members and the staff that it was an obvious choice." CHL President Brad Treliving agreed; "On behalf of the Central Hockey League, we congratulate Hockey Sports of Amarillo on a wonderful new identity. We feel the outstanding image and unique name creates numerous enjoyable marketing opportunities for the club."

The Gorillas will play in the CHL's Northwest Division the coming season, along with the Oklahoma City Blazers, Tulsa Oilers and Wichita Thunder. The CHL enjoyed a 16% attendance increase during the 2001/2002 regular season, and led all North American minor professional circuits with a per game average attendance of 4,356 in post-season play. The 2002/2003 regular season is slated to begin Thursday, October 17th, and conclude Sunday, March 16th of 2003.