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The Cleveland Cavaliers today announced that their new NBA D-League team in Canton will be named the Canton Charge. At the same time, the team’s colors, logo and court design were also debuted. The announcement and unveiling was led by Cavaliers President Len Komoroski and Cavaliers Chief Marketing Officer Tracy Marek, along with Canton Mayor William J. Healy II and Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce President Denny Saunier. The events took place at the Canton Memorial Civic Center, which will serve as home court for the Charge.
“The Canton Charge franchise is powered by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they are truly energized by the Greater Canton community,” said Cavaliers President Len Komoroski. “Today, we are proud to unveil a team identity that is very much the result of a collaborative process between our organization and the great fans here.”
“We’re very excited about this and we think Charge is not only a great name for the team, but it can also help reflect an attitude and mindset for our entire community. Canton is charging ahead in multiple ways, and we’re working hard to make our future better and better,” said Canton Mayor Healy.
Extensive research was conducted to best determine the team identity by inviting fan input and direction in various forms. Thousands submitted their thoughts and ideas online via the team’s official website – www.CantonCharge.com and social media outlets. Fan focus groups and fan-on-the-street interviews also took place. Questions were answered, opinions were shared and fan direction was clear— it was very important to establish the close connection between Canton’s new NBA D-League team and the Cavaliers. A bond was easily seen and sensed. Fans wanted the team’s brand to translate the passion they already had for the Cavaliers and at the same time, to create a team identity that reflected great pride and energy in an aggressive way.
“Our fans spoke. We listened, and then we let their input and direction serve as the guiding element for our development process,” said Cavaliers CMO and team identity development process leader Tracy Marek. “It was a fun process and we think we ended up with a great name, logo and colors that represent what the team, the fans and the community collectively wanted. To CHARGE ahead!”
The goal was also to have the new team’s identity fit well with Canton’s strong history of being a passionate and supportive sports community. “There is a great partnership and momentum that can be created when a community, a team and fans all charge ahead together in support of each other and I think our business community understands how important and exciting this can be,” said Greater Canton Chamber of Commerce President Denny Saunier. “We look forward to being part of the fun and seeing the positive impact the Charge will have here.”
The Charge begins their inaugural season at the Canton Memorial Civic Center on Friday, November 25th at 7:30 p.m. against the defending NBA D-League Champion Iowa Energy. Individual game tickets will go on-sale in early November. Season tickets for the Canton Charge are on sale now and start as low as $5 per seat.
Read NBA fan reaction to the name and logo in this basketball forum topic.
