Tucson Padres unveil their retro logo
Unveiled at a press conference staged at Kino Stadium, the logo signifies the strong link between the recently relocated Pacific Coast League team and its parent club, the San Diego Padres. The retro "Padres" lettering is the same as that used by San Diego from 1978-'84, but rendered in sky blue and dust gray instead of yellow and brown. Local Tucson elements are strongly incorporated as well, with the "Padres" text overlaid atop mountains and a cactus.
"There's been a lot of anticipation for this, because we kept telling people 'It's coming, it's coming, it's coming,'" said Tucson GM Mike Feder, a veteran baseball executive, who also served as the GM of the Tucson Sidewinders before that franchise relocated to Reno. "But the approval process took a long time, because it needed to be approved by Minor and Major League Baseball due to the use of the old-style Padres lettering."
San Diego's approval was explicit from the get-go, however, as the logo was designed by the big league club's Creative Services Department.
"No. 1, we wanted to be branded with the Padres name. And No. 2, we wanted a Tucson theme to go along with it," said Feder. "I think this is going to do very well."
Since the logo just received official approval, it will still be another several weeks before Tucson Padres merchandise is available. In the meantime, Feder has plenty of other things to focus on. The club relocated to Tucson from Portland, but is slated to move to Escondido, Calif., in 2013.
"We know we're going to be here for two years, and at that point, it will be up to our community to decide if it wants Triple-A Baseball," he said. "I believe the answer is yes. ... In reality, this is the perfect storm. We lost [Major League] Spring Training, but now Triple-A baseball is back. This is the first time in a long time that something has come back to us instead of leaving, and we're going to make the most of it."
Assisting in this endeavor will be Feder's front office staff, which was formally introduced Tuesday as well. Two of the more prominent new hires are former professional athletes, with Olympic gold medal swimmer Crissy Ahmann serving as community relations director and former Major League pitcher Ed Vosberg assuming the role of sports marketing specialist.
They'll be overseen by an individual with full confidence in what he's doing.
"When you've run clubs for 30 years, you know what you've got to do," said Feder. "It's just like riding a bike. There are no concerns, we'll get it done."
Benjamin Hill is a reporter for MLB.com.