Grizzlies Leap NBA Hoops for Approval of Uniform Design

Grizzlies Leap NBA Hoops for Approval of Uniform Design
The Memphis Grizzlies jumped through two years of hoops to get a new look.

In a journey that started in Vancouver, took a detour to Hattiesburg, Miss., traveled to New York and finally settled in Memphis, the Grizzlies' quest for a new logo and redesigned uniforms required two years of design work, legal wrangling and NBA approval procedures.

Teams own their logos, but the NBA serves as a national licensing agent for the teams. The league will also step in to make sure the logos aren't indecent and have not been trademarked by anyone else in the world. Chris Arena, senior director of apparel for NBA Entertainment, says the process uses every minute of the two years it takes.

In fact, the Grizzlies' new logo and uniform design has been approved and under closely guarded wraps since 2003.

Mike Golub, vice president of business operations for the Grizzlies, says the process for changing the design started in Vancouver before the team relocated to Memphis. The Grizzlies learned that fans liked the mascot name but weren't sold on the logo and uniforms. So the quest began to make a change.