Dolphins Logo Change, Blackout Rules, & New Facility Design
By Brian Miller
When the 2013 season rolls around the Miami Dolphins may have a different look on their helmet. We touched on this about a month ago when Stephen Ross told season ticket holders on a conference call that the team would like to modernize the current logo. Apparently, the team is in fact working towards doing just that. According to Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post, the Dolphins’ Mike Dee and other organizational members are in daily talks with the NFL.
Talks are moving along at such a pace that the team is bouncing concept art off the NFL brain-trust. While little is known as to what direction the Dolphins brass will go with the logo, Dee has stated that it will not be a drastic change similar to what other teams have done in the past.
"“We’re not talking about changing colors or taking the sun off the helmet. It’s not going to be like when Tampa Bay changed from orange to pewter gray,” he said. “It’s definitely keeping one eye on what’s traditional in the logo intact, while keeping one eye on a 21st century version of that.”"
If what Dee says is true, what exactly can we expect with a logo change of any kind? According to Volin who claims to have seen some of the early conceptual ideas, the new logo could look something similar to the old Dolphins Stadium logo. The Dolphin would apparently be more streamlined with the traditional logo meaning that it would likely be jumping through the sun burst similar to a fans concept art shown above. Volin imagines that the new design, if this is the way the team goes would be more arced like the current logo.
Dee promises the traditional “sun outline” on the helmet and also states that the team will not be changing their color schemes. According to Volin, the concepts that he has seen resemble more of the stadium logo design than the current cartoon that adorns the side of the helmet. Mike Dee spoke with Volin and denied that the dolphin would resemble the stadium logo design. Something that Volin disputes to some degree.
Regardless of what design concept the Dolphins come up with, it’s likely that Nike will have some input considering they are the new uniform providers for the NFL. It’s also very safe to say that the Dolphins will not please all of the fans with a new design. Many Dolphins fans have never known anything but the current model with the cartoon style breaching Dolphin with the furrowed brow. Others, such as myself, tend to lean more to the traditional Dolphin that was in play until Jimmy Johnson changed it in 1997.
While the Dolphins have yet to announce when a change will be made, the team has until November to submit a final design to the NFL.
In other Miami Dolphins business news, the Dolphins have announced that they will take advantage of the new NFL blackout policy that allows the local media to broadcast home games if 85% of the premium tickets are sold. The new easing of the blackout rules came with a little push from the U.S. Congress who have been lobbying a lift to the former blackout regulations. The Dolphins will not have to purchase as many tickets if the stadium is not sold out, but will have to pay .50 cents on the dollar as opposed to .34 cents under the previous blackout restriction rules. The Dolphins currently rank 31’st in the NFL in attendance.
UPDATE: the original source was incorrect on the acceptance of the blackout rule changes. The Dolphins through this source may have notified the league they were considering the acceptance but will not make a formal decicion until August 9th. The leagues deadline.
Finally, we enter the Dolphins training facility in Davie, Fl. A facility I have walked through five times now. Last night on NFL Network, Cameron Wake took the cameras through the new hallways. You can view that video here. In the past, the Dolphins training facility, entering from the players entrance was a full wall mural on both sides with significant highlights of the teams past. Some of those pictures represented historic moments while others fantastic snapshots from Miami Dolphin photographers.
Now, those halls are no longer wall to wall top to bottom as seen in the NFL Network video. Replacing the murals are HD posters exposing the historic moments from the teams history as the team rebuilds it’s image from the inside out. Gone also are the quotes posted around the facility that represented the thoughts of former HC Tony Sparano. Replaced by placards like the two shown upon entering the facility. “Focus – Listen – Learn” and “Act Like A Champion”.
The Miami Dolphins marketing team has been working hard to give fans less of the glitz and glamour and more of the historic traditional team that brought the franchise success. Perhaps the new makeup of the team on and off the field will finally bring stability to a team that is sorely lacking that one component that made it’s tradition.