(L to R): Kevin T. Orrock (President, Summerlin); Steve Hill (CEO, LVCVA); David R. Weinreb (former CEO of The Howard Hughes Corporation); Don Logan (Aviators President/COO); Branch Rickey (President of the Pacific Coast League). Photo by Steve Spatafore

The Howard Hughes Corporation®, owner of the city's professional Triple-A baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL), and developer of the Summerlin® master planned community and the Las Vegas Ballpark® located at Downtown Summerlin®, announced on December 8, 2018 the team's new name - the Las Vegas Aviators®.

The name change completed a rebrand that included the team's new two-year Player Development Contract (PDC) with the Oakland Athletics and the opening of the Las Vegas Ballpark (April of 2019), the new, state-of-the-art Triple-A baseball stadium, that will serve as the new home of the Aviators!

According David Weinreb, CEO of The Howard Hughes Corporation, the name change pays homage to the company's namesake, Howard R. Hughes, Jr., one of the twentieth century's most successful businessmen whose passion for aviation and legacy of innovation includes significant aviation-related firsts and accomplishments. In the H-1 Racer, a plane he designed and built, Hughes set the land speed record of 352 miles per hour in 1935. Hughes went on to set other records, including the fastest coast-to-coast flight in 1937 and the fastest circumnavigation of the globe in 1938, then acquiring and successfully operating major airlines and aviation companies.  

"Hughes' vision and ambition were unmatched," said Weinreb. "That, along with his imprint on Las Vegas where his legacy has helped shape the community for more than three decades, makes the decision to name the team in his honor an easy one. The Las Vegas Aviators is the perfect name for the city's oldest professional sports team, one that is now launching an exciting new chapter with a brand-new stadium in Summerlin and a new major league affiliation."

The name, the Las Vegas Aviators, was chosen from hundreds of names submitted by the general public through a competition in which the community was invited to participate in the naming process. According to Weinreb, the Aviators was a popular name nominated by many Southern Nevadans.  

"Everyone is excited about our new name," said Don Logan, the team's President and Chief Operating Officer, who has been with the franchise for 35 years. "With new ownership, our impending move into the Las Vegas Ballpark and our new professional affiliation, this is the perfect time to rebrand the city's beloved baseball team. The Aviators was a popular nomination from our fans, and it's a fitting new moniker for the city's first professional sports franchise as we start our next exciting chapter."

LOGO DESIGN AND CONCEPT:
The color inspiration: the Las Vegas Sunset; the mountain range featured in the Aviators'
sunglasses resembles the mountain range found in the Summerlin logo!
Team colors are navy, orange, tangerine, gold, yellow, gray.

SOUTHERN NEVADA AVIATION HISTORY:
Nevada's High-Flying Aviators (from UNLV News) - Nevada has a rich history in Aviation; with 500 miles between the state's two largest cities (Reno and Las Vegas), aviation was ideal for Nevada.
Aviation History in Las Vegas (from McCarran Airport) - Aviation grew exponentially throughout the 1900s, bringing more and more travelers to our city.

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE:
Nellis Air Force Base (in Las Vegas) is "Home of the Fighter Pilot" and home to the United States Air Force Warfare Center - the largest and most demanding advanced air combat training mission in the world. Nellis AFB provides training for composite strike forces which include EVERY type of aircraft in the Air Force inventory. Crews do not come to learn how to fly, but instead how to be the best combat aviators in the world!