The Colorado Eagles, one of the Central Hockey Leagues two confirmed expansion clubs for the 2003/2004 season, established their identity Monday afternoon, unveiling their logo to a packed hall in Windsor, Colorado. Co-owners Bill Stewart and Ralph Backstrom were on hand for the announcement, which was met with resounding support from fans, media and other team investors.
The logo, jointly created by design company Invision and Jim Jensen, the Eagles marketing director, features a bold eagle head and the Colorado state colors of blue, red and gold. This is a wonderful day for our organization, said Backstrom, a six-time Stanley Cup winner as a center with the Montreal Canadiens. Hockey upholds a proud tradition of having creative logos and colors. Weve raised the bar for ourselves with this logo because it was different, fun and loaded with altitude.
The Eagles and a to-be-named club in Hidalgo, TX (Rio Grande Valley) will both start CHL play in new arenas in October of 2003. The Eagles home will be the Budweiser Events Center, currently under construction at the Larimer County Fairgrounds and Events Center. The team has already received over 1,200 season ticket commitments, and has named Chris Stewart, a former CHL Coach of the Year, as their Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations.
Today is a significant milestone in the young history of the Colorado franchise, said CHL President Brad Treliving. We sincerely congratulate the ownership of the Eagles organization for finalization of a tremendous logo and the creation of a strong and proud identity.
On the ice, three CHL teams remain undefeated to open the season. The Austin Ice Bats, New Mexico Scorpions and Tulsa Oilers have all enjoyed 4-0-0 starts to the campaign.