Utah is allowing fans to vote for the team's name and logo in the arena.

 

The Utah Hockey Club is allowing supporters to select the winner of the three choices it has whittled down for its permanent moniker.

The Utah Hockey Club, Utah Mammoth, and Utah Wasatch are the three finalists, according to a statement made by Smith Entertainment Group on Wednesday. The four-game period, which started with Wednesday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, will allow fans to cast their ballots at iPad stations positioned around Delta Center.


Fans will choose between the three names and two possible logos: one associated with Mammoth and the other with Hockey Club and Wasatch.

 

“The voting at this stage of the process will only be done in-arena.” Smith Entertainment Group executive Mike Maughan said. “We’re doing that because this time we’re including names and potential logos with them. … Because of the logos, we’re doing this only in-arena and not showing those publicly so that we can protect those images.”

After this season ends and before the next one begins, Utah intends to reveal the winning name and logo at a later date. Following the acquisition of the contracts of Arizona Coyotes executives, coaches, and players by co-owners Ryan and Ashley Smith, the name Hockey Club was chosen for Utah's first NHL season.

When Utah hosts the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday, the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, and the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday, fan voting will resume. According to Maughan, there will be roughly 15,000 spectators at each of Utah's four home games who will be able to cast ballots.

Maughan said it is to be determined whether there will be another stage needed after this one to select the winning name and logo, but, ultimately, the fans will have the final say because Ryan and Ashley Smith see the team as “a community asset.”

“[The Smiths] view this as a really exciting opportunity to do something that has never been done in the history of professional sports, which is involve fans to this level and go with them through this entire process as we seek to name a team together,” Maughan said. “That’s what we’re very excited about. They are very community-focused and community-oriented people, and we’re excited to be able to announce this next stage of the process where we’ll be working with everybody on the naming of the team.”

Ryan Smith co-founded the experience management business Qualtrics, whose methodology will be used to conduct the fan poll. The Utah Jazz NBA team's "Mountain Basketball" uniforms were chosen using the same procedure.

The fan involvement process started with an open call for recommendations and is now in its fourth round. Voting to the top 20 and then the top six helped to refine those recommendations. The names that remain after voting on that top six are Mammoth and Hockey Club. A new contribution in lieu of Yeti is called Wasatch.

After failing to come to a coexistence arrangement with the Yeti cooler company, which Maughan claimed possesses "a unique and strong trademark on anything published 'Yeti' or 'Yetis', either the singular or the plural … on clothing or any other licensed gear," Utah made the decision to move on from Yeti.

The Wasatch Mountains, which stretch south from the Utah-Idaho border to central Utah, are honored by the name.

“Eighty-five percent of Utahans live within 15 miles of what is called the Wasatch Front, this mountain range,” Maughan said. “So, it is allowing us to honor this idea of a mythical snow creature, but with a very Utah-centric approach to it.”

The logo that would accompany the Hockey Club and Wasatch names is a depiction of that mythical snow creature. The Mammoth name is linked to a logo with an illustration of a mammoth.

“All of them are designed in a very fierce and appropriate way for an NHL hockey team,” Maughan said.

During the survey, fans will be able to choose from different combinations of the names and associated logos, including what they would look like on jerseys and on the ice.

Although the United States Patent and Trademark Office rejected submissions for Hockey Club and Mammoth previously, along with the 18 other names from the final 20, Maughan said that was not a surprise and that plans are in place to resolve any issues with the names under consideration.