The newest ECHL expansion franchise is set to charge into Bloomington, Illinois, after unveiling their name and logo on Wednesday, January 24.
At an event held at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington on Wednesday, the franchise announced they’ll be known as the Bloomington Bison when they take the ice in the 2024-25 ECHL season.
The logo depicts a bison wearing a red jersey and a stove pipe hat inside a light blue shield with black and red outlines. The bison is also wearing light blue hockey gloves and carrying a hockey stick. A light blue B appears in a black circle at the bottom of the shield, while a white map of Illinois with a red star marking Bloomington’s location sits to the left of the bison.
The bison’s hat is an homage to former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who represented Illinois’s 7th congressional district in Congress before being elected president. And the shield shape comes from the road signs along historic Route 66, which ran through Bloomington before it was decommissioned.
The Bison also released a wordmark on Wednesday. “Bison” is written out in a blue and white bevelled script font, with a black outline and drop shadow. “BLOOMINGTON” is spelled out in blue to the right of the dot of the I in “Bison.”
Partial marks visible in a graphic on the Bison’s website include the beveled script B on its own and the stove pipe hat with horns protruding and a map of Illinois on the front.
The Bison are owned by Hallett Sports and Entertainment, which also operates the ECHL’s Indy Fuel and the Indoor Football League’s Fishers Freight.
The Bison will be the ECHL’s 30th team when they debut in 2024-25. Another new team for that season, the Tahoe Knight Monsters, unveiled their name and logo in November 2023.
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