Charlotte Bobcats Have New Uniforms (PHOTO)

An image of the Charlotte Bobcats’ new uniforms leaked last night, via social media. The Charlotte Observer has more details on the new threads, and possible future branding changes for the Bobcats: “The uniform changes, however, fall short of what some fans crave. A Facebook campaign in the Piedmont called ‘Bring Back the Buzz,’ is lobbying the Bobcats to return the ‘Hornets’ nickname that moved to New Orleans with Charlotte’s first NBA franchise. For trademark reasons the Bobcats can’t directly address the ‘Hornets’ nickname, at least until that team’s new owner, Tom Benson, follows through on plans to discard it for something more Louisiana-centric. But team officials did address a question from the Observer on their willingness to change. ‘What this doesn’t do is preclude us from any possibility down the road,’ team president Fred Whitfield said. That doesn’t mean it’s a given the Bobcats would switch to Hornets if that name becomes available. The team would investigate whether such a change – which could cost several million dollars – would pay back in improved ticket and merchandise sales and marketing. The process would have to include a formal review to determine the legitimate impact on our team’s business model,’ said Pete Guelli, the Bobcats’ chief marketing officer. [...] Whitfield said Michael Jordan pushed for changes in the look as soon as he bought the team. He didn’t like the heavy use of orange and wanted the Carolina blue accent. While that could turn off some potential fans who don’t root for the Tar Heels, Guelli said their market research suggested it would be received well. Thirty-five percent of those polled by the Bobcats said they’d like Carolina blue in the color mix. Whitfield said tightening up the nickname on the jersey to ‘Cats’ reflected what fans call them during games. The Bobcats’ public-address announcer often chants, ‘Let’s go, Cats,’ during scoring rallies at home games. The Bobcats have renamed their charitable foundation ‘Cats Care.’”

(H/T: @chrislittmann)