Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
SOUTH JORDAN — A little more than a year and a half ago, not long after the Salt Lake Bees announced plans for a new stadium in South Jordan's Daybreak community, the team's front office and ownership began brainstorming other changes.
Everything was on the table at the time, including a potential shift away from the Bees moniker and color palette introduced after the team rebranded from the Salt Lake Stingers in 2006.
"The question was, do we want to take the Bees to the new ballpark and is it time to rebrand into something else? Or what the Bees become at the new ballpark?" said Ashley Havili, vice president of marketing for Miller Sports + Entertainment, recalling the early meetings.
It took a few "hard discussions," but the Bees' front office convinced the room that the team's identity was far too popular to abandon. The two sides agreed on a brand "refresh" over a complete overhaul, getting to work on changes to be in place in time for the first pitch at Dayfield Field at America First Square in 2025.
"It felt like the Bees needed to be refreshed and feel new to go along with this new ballpark. It's simultaneous," Havili added.
That refresh is now here. The Bees on Monday unveiled new logos, fonts, jerseys and even a small tweak to the team color scheme that players will wear beginning next season.
Its black and gold color scheme isn't going anywhere, nor is the primary bat-wielding bee logo; however, red now joins the team's palette, and essentially everything else is new.
The team's interlocking "SL" logo received a font adjustment, while their jerseys received new scripts and numbering patterns that make it harder for fans to confuse with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Four new alternate logos were also introduced, all of which have a place on the four uniform combos the team will wear next season. The Bees will retain primary home white jerseys, road grays and a black alternate option as in past seasons, but there's also a new cream-colored alternate.
The latter replaces the yellow alternate top created as a one-off idea before it unofficially became a part of the team's Sunday look.
While it all looks new, fans may notice pieces of Utah's baseball past in the details.
Inside the new designs
Work began quickly once everyone agreed on a brand "refresh." Minor league teams must submit any uniform changes over a year ahead of a specified season, so the team needed to finalize the project by late 2023 to get the new designs on the field by 2025, said Salt Lake Bees communications director Kraig Williams.
Havili insists there never were any major discussions of any new names, while the room agreed early on that "Salt Lake" would remain as a nod to the county. Bumble was one of the first to be saved in the redesign process once everyone settled on keeping the Bees, given that the team's mascot is its most recognizable figure.
The focus turned to colors, lettering, scripts and alternate logos from there.
Team officials knew they'd have to keep black and gold to match the colors of a bee. Red was incorporated after feedback from players, who often wear red-colored gear so they don't have to make any changes once they're called up to the Los Angeles Angels. That's why the official shade of red mirrors the Angels, although most of the red on logos and jerseys is minor.
"The uniforms play into the new colors," Havili said, pointing to the red trim and numbering in the cream-colored second alternate uniform. "I think it brings the Angels and the Bees together in a really nice, cohesive way."
Designers then came up with a custom script completely different from anyone else, removing any potential comparison to another franchise. There wasn't much of a method to this. They reviewed different options before finding fonts that clicked with the brand vision.
Some designs are completely new, such as a logo that blends Utah's beehive and a baseball; however, the team also took a page out from history by adjusting the "SL" logo to be closer to the ligature that existed when the first Bees played in 1915.
Other logos pay homage to Bees and Angels history. One new logo — to be worn on the cap of the cream alternate jerseys — features a bee with a baseball and beehive-shaped body. It was influenced by the original 1915 logo, as well, but twisted for a modern look.
There's so much history that we pulled from to infuse into the new system and new (logos).
–Ashley Havili, vice president of marketing for Miller Sports + Entertainment
An old California Angels logo that existed in the 1970s and '80s inspired another logo, which features "Bees" written within an outline of the state. The uniforms also have thicker trims akin to what the old Gulls and Trappers wore in the '70s and '80s eras of Salt Lake baseball.
"There's so much history that we pulled from to infuse into the new system and new (logos)," Havili said.
It's not the only change noticeable uniform coming next season. Major League Baseball announced a multi-year partnership with the German-based workwear company Strauss in September, allowing the company to place its logo on Bees helmets and all other minor league helmets beginning in 2025.
Fans will be able to grab merchandise before players return from the offseason. The team's new caps are scheduled to go on sale Monday before jerseys, shirts and other merchandise hit shelves on Friday.
All of the items will be available on the team's website, but the Bees also plan to sell items at a new pop-up store it plans to open in Daybreak (10491 S. Lake Ave.) starting on Dec. 5. The temporary shop will offer items before a new team store at the new stadium opens next year.
Future rebranding?
While the Bees aren't going anywhere, the team is also exploring new types of alternate identities — mirroring trends in other minor league cities.
The Eugene Exploding Whales, Hartford Bouncing Pickles and Jersey Diners are just a few of the unique secondary names other minor league franchises have adopted to reflect food or history special to their communities. While the Bees have played under the name of previous monikers in Utah history, the team hasn't branched out with a secondary identity in the same way — outside of the Minor League Baseball's Copa de la Diversion promotion, to an extent.
That's something that could change beyond 2025 because, again, there's a lengthy process to get uniforms approved before they're allowed on the field. It's unclear what type of secondary identity the Bees could adopt, but Havili said she's "hopeful" the team will have something to reveal by the 2026 season.
"You see a lot of fun in the minor league system, especially when you get further down into the system," she said. "There's something we love about that, so ... we are open to alt identities and what those can become in the future."
With plenty of historical achievements, the region's distinct landscape and culinary staples like pastrami burgers, fry sauce and soda shops, there are plenty of concepts to choose from.
