New Logo for the Asheville Tourists Baseball Team

The Asheville Tourist have spent the last 5 months overhauling and updating their visual identity. The new look pays tribute to countless moon-lit nights at McCormick Field, during which the Tourists have become part of the summer fabric for families throughout the Land of the Sky. The South Atlantic League team revealed its new identity program yesterday at the Hickory Tavern by introducing its sunglasses-wearing "Mr. Moon" character.

Mr. Moon and the other parts of the Tourists' new identity were created via a collaborative process with Plan B Branding and the team's front office. "We're extremely excited to introduce our new identity program," said Brian DeWine, president of the Tourists and DeWine Seeds Silver Dollar Baseball. "During the 2010 season, we formed a working relationship with Plan B Branding and proceeded to meet with fans and other members of the community to try to incorporate a true local feel to what we were trying to accomplish. "Our number one goal was to create an exciting new look for our fans and the community that they will be proud to wear," DeWine said. "While we'll introduce our uniforms in the spring, we couldn't wait that long to get our caps in the hands of our fans so that they too can share in the excitement that we feel for our new identity."

The team's new logo features a home run ball sailing over the Blue Ridge Mountains above the refreshed "Tourists" script. The team also unveiled a new McCormick Field logo, which is shaped like home plate and includes the ballpark's arched entrance along with the moon, stars and its first year-1924.

The Tourists are believed to be the first professional baseball team to incorporate a moon in their identity program. The closest may have occurred 100 years ago, when the Asheville team in the Class D Southeastern League (1910) and the Appalachian League (1911-12) was known as the Moonshiners. The color schemes, meanwhile, pay tribute to the city's hallmarks, including Midnight Navy, Blue Ridge Blue and Biltmore Jade. A new typeface, which will be used for both "Asheville" and "Tourists" as well as the "A" on caps, was rendered in the area's craftsman style.

The new caps and T-shirts are available at team's souvenir store at McCormick Field and online at www.theashevilletourists.com. Season tickets for the 2011 baseball campaign are also on sale at the Tourists' front offices. For more information, contact the Tourists at (828) 258-0428.