El Paso, TX – El Pasoans who would like to vote for their favorite among the five finalist names for El Paso’s Triple-A baseball team have until Thursday to submit their votes at www.elpasotriplea.com/vote. The finalist names include:
• Aardvarks
• Buckaroos
• Chihuahuas
• Desert Gators
• Sun Dogs
“The passionate response we have seen to the finalist names has not gone unnoticed, and is a very normal reaction in the team naming process,” said Alan Ledford, President of MountainStar Sports Group. “We appreciate that the community is so engaged in their team’s name, and look forward to revealing the final name later this year, along with the team’s logo and colors to give El Pasoans a full picture of how their team will be represented.”
“It’s not easy to immediately visualize how these names will come to life with the players on the field and all the ballpark fun,” added Brad Taylor, General Manager of El Paso’s Triple-A team. “But if you look at Minor League team names across the country – the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the Albuquerque Isotopes – you can see the fun, family-friendly spirit of the names, and how these finalist names fit in that picture.”
Fans can visit the Minor League Baseball web site (http://www.milb.com/milb/info/teams.jsp) to see a full list of team names and learn more about the spirit and nature of Minor League team names from across the country.
The public is invited to vote on the finalist names at www.elpasotriplea.com/vote through midnight, Thursday, June 27. Individuals can vote once a day throughout the voting period. The team’s name will be announced later this year, along with the team’s logo and colors.
Each of the final names to be considered for public vote was submitted by multiple individuals during the name entry period. As part of the Name the Team contest, those who submitted the winning name will be entered into a drawing to win an exciting grand prize, to include the opportunity to throw out a ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day in the new El Paso Ballpark, two field-level season tickets for the 2014 season, and a personalized jersey.
The criteria for selecting a team name include name popularity based on public entries and voting, creativity, how well the name represents El Paso, and family-friendliness. While the public input is an important element of the decision-making process, MountainStar Sports Group will make the ultimate name selection based on the aforementioned criteria and Minor League Baseball approval.