Charlotte Hornets to Wear Purple and Teal Uniforms Next Season

Fear not. Next season, when the Bobcats officially become the Charlotte Hornets again, the team’s iconic purple and teal uniforms will be back. From the press release and Charlotte Observer: “The Charlotte Bobcats announced (Sunday) that the team will utilize purple and teal as its primary colors when it changes its name to the Charlotte Hornets prior to the 2014-15 NBA season. The colors, which were used by the original Charlotte Hornets during their tenure in the city from 1988-2002, will be accented by secondary colors black, cool gray and light blue. ‘It was important to us to acknowledge the heritage of the Charlotte Hornets when bringing the name back to the market,’ said Bobcats Sports & Entertainment Chairman Michael Jordan. ‘The purple and teal color scheme was instantly recognizable as being associated with the original Hornets and we felt it was only appropriate to utilize the colors once again with this historic brand.’ As part of the survey process prior to the decision to change the name, Harris Interactive surveyed the Charlotte community, as well as current season ticket holders and team sponsors. In each of the three groups, an overwhelming majority of those surveyed were in favor of using the purple and teal of the original Hornets as the colors of the rebranded team. […] One interesting point about the accent colors: that ‘light blue’ looks an awful lot like Carolina blue, a color Bobcats owner Michael Jordan wore as one of the Tar Heels’ all-time best players. ‘We understand it’s an important color to the region,’ said Pete Guelli, the Bobcats’ chief marketing officer, of the blue shade. ‘It scored high in our survey and was part of the original Hornet color palette. The Bobcats are still working on new uniforms and logos. While no final decisions have been made, next season’s uniforms probably won’t be replicas of the originals, with pleats and such. ‘Clearly there would have been some evolution for any brand over 23 years. There would be some evolution of what the look would be,’ Bobcats President Fred Whitfield said. ‘We’re being very deliberate to make sure our uniform design is something our fans would be excited about, and also have a current look and feel.’ Julian, a national clothing designer who grew up in Chapel Hill, advocated the teal-and-purple color scheme when then-team owner George Shinn asked him to design the prototype uniforms. By 1995, Hornets gear was the hottest seller in the NBA. Charlotte Hornets ‘legacy’ items sold by the NBA are still big sellers among young consumers. The Bobcats have already seen new revenue from the name change. There’s been an uptick in season-ticket sales – an 89percent renewal rate, plus about 2,000 new season-ticket equivalents.”