SALT LAKE CITY (May 12, 2016) – The Utah Jazz introduced today a refreshed brand identity for the 2016-17 season with home and away uniform modifications including a sleeved pride jersey for the first time, the reveal of a new court design for Vivint Smart Home Arena, and the selection of the Jazz wordmark as the primary team logo.
A complete graphic presentation is available at www.utahjazz.com/newlook with a fan interaction event to unveil the full-sized court and actual uniforms planned for the preseason this fall.
“The revised designs offer a cohesive representation of the Utah Jazz brand with the integration of new elements and iconic Jazz marks,” said Chief Marketing Officer Craig Sanders. “We remain true to our navy, gold and green colors for Jazz fans and the team, but present them in a clean and modern fashion. This brand identity package reflects our franchise history with an eye to the future.”
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The look harkens back to a team that was born as the New Orleans Jazz with the ‘J’ as an eighth note in 1974. The logo evolution has gone full circle as an acknowledgment of the team’s heritage. The mountain logo is no longer part of the graphics package with an emphasis now on the ‘Jazz’ wordmark and the name of the home state embedded above the nickname, which echoes the primary logo from 1979-96.
For team graphics, the ‘Jazz’ note wordmark has been elevated to primary status, with the addition of the word ‘Utah’ on top of the double ZZ. The three partial marks are the ‘Jazz’ note wordmark without ‘Utah,’ an independent J-note and the tri-colored ball. The new secondary logo is the tri-colored ball inside a circle with the phrase ‘Utah Jazz Basketball.’
Four Utah Jazz uniforms are available for next season with a home white uniform, road navy uniform, alternate road green uniform, and a short-sleeved navy jersey that brings back memories of the 1980-90s teams with the familiar band of multi-colored stripes.
The home and road uniforms feature the ‘Jazz’ wordmark logo on the jersey front, the tri-colored basketball on the waistband, the J-note on the bottom of the shorts and the ‘Utah’ wordmark on the back of shorts. Navy, gold and green stripes -- cut at a 66 degree angle like the primary logo -- are on the sides of the jersey and shorts. The phrase ‘We Are Utah Jazz’ is incorporated on the left side hem which is visible when the players tuck in their jersey.
In appreciation of its home state, the ‘Utah’ wordmark is emblazoned across the chest of the green alternate road uniform while the word ‘Jazz’ is placed on the back of the shorts. Identical design characteristics of the primary uniforms are incorporated in the alternate green look.
The short-sleeved jersey is also known as a pride uniform because it celebrates tradition and history – and in this case, it pays tribute to the Jazz heritage under Frank Layden and Jerry Sloan. The navy pride uniform features a gold, green and white band across the jersey chest and on one lower leg of the shorts. The thick band of stripes is a historical nod to the warmups and uniforms worn by Jazz alumni Adrian Dantley, Mark Eaton, Karl Malone and John Stockton.
The front of the jersey has the number on the upper right and a J-note on the upper left over the heart. The ‘Jazz’ wordmark is on the front waistband and ‘We Are Utah Jazz’ is located on the left side hem. The engineered arm hole has a 360-degree stretch fabric for range of motion that is on par with that of the standard tank jersey.
The new Larry H. Miller Court at Vivint Smart Home Arena has been improved in wood, paint and color selections. The light-colored wood mirrors the practice court at the Zions Bank Basketball Center while the clean graphics reflect its modernity. Midcourt now features a 16-foot round navy, gold and green basketball. A J-note is displayed inside the three-point line on both ends of the court.
[[{"fid":"27965","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":""},"type":"media","attributes":{"height":"394","width":"689","style":"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]The free throw lane is now navy in color, matching the apron around the court. Both baselines have a gold ‘Utah Jazz’ wordmark in the new custom font. In lieu of sponsors, the website URL of utahjazz.com reads in front of the home bench while the social media handle of @utahjazz is reversed out in white along the visiting team bench. At midcourt, the NBA logo is located at the scorer’s table while a newly created circular Utah Jazz secondary logo is on the opposite side.
Each of the team’s new insignia are related for a fresh, unified brand identity. The design elements were created in-house by the Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment creative services department. The uniforms for the 2016-17 season will be manufactured by adidas, the NBA’s official uniform provider.
The original team name of the New Orleans Jazz was announced on June 7, 1974. When ownership decided to move the team to Salt Lake City following the 1978-79 season, the name was kept. The original Mardi Gras team colors of purple, gold and green were actually selected prior to the name.