Nanaimo’s new baseball team will represent not only the city, but also the traditional territory on which it will play.
The Nanaimo NightOwls, a West Coast League expansion team preparing for an inaugural season in 2021, introduced a new alternate logo on Wednesday featuring a Coast Salish design.
The logo was created by Snuneymuxw artist Noel Brown and will appear on home jerseys and on team merchandise. The team says the logo will be featured on a Snuneymuxw NightOwls alternate jersey in a future season after further consultation with the First Nation.
The NightOwls say the alternate logo is meant to honour the area’s “rich and proud First Nations history” and the grey owl symbolizes a messenger with a nasty streak. Chief Mike Wyse said Brown’s skills as an artist bring “great pride” to the Snuneymuxw First Nation.
“This team, playing in our traditional territory, will be a team we can all cheer for as a community, celebrating that we can all come together. There is a lot of excitement about the NightOwls with our Snuneymuxw people,” Wyse said.
NightOwls general manager Jim Swanson suggested in the release that the franchise has demonstrated, from the beginning, the importance of its relationship with the Snuneymuxw First Nation.
“We think this amazing logo will be heralded by all who see it as a tremendous addition as the team builds a history in this region,” he said.
To see variations of the new alternate logo, click here.
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