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New Orleans Pelicans: Evaluating The New Court Design

By Owen Sanborn

Oct 30, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans mascot Pierre the Pelican performs for the crowd during the second half of a game against the Indiana Pacers at New Orleans Arena. The Pacers defeated the Pelicans 95-90. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans mascot Pierre the Pelican performs for the crowd during the second half of a game against the Indiana Pacers at New Orleans Arena. The Pacers defeated the Pelicans 95-90. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Last week, the Pelicans made their highly anticipated new court design public finally and Zach Lowe of grantland.com treated us to the mock-up design via twitter:

The new design had been rumored for a long time, leaving fans and media members alike anxiously awaiting the arrival. Zach Lowe has lead the charge as far as coverage for this story because he recently ranked every team’s court design in a recent article.

Instant Impressions:

Where New Orleans really separates themselves from the other teams in the NBA is that they the first team to put their logo inside the 3-point arc. As visually pleasing as this looks in the mock up, I for one am not sure if it will play well on television or during actual game play.

Players may struggle to get accustomed to a discoloration in the shape of a fierce Pelican. Perhaps the people in charge of the court design thought this would form into some kind of home court advantage for the Pellies and help create more turnovers/offensive confusion.

I appreciate the unique font that letters the “New Orleans Pelicans” along both baselines. The font and colors have both a New Orleans look and feel to them. I could do without the small alternate logo that appears before and after the wording, it makes the area feel a little more busy than it should. But, I guess it should do for now.

A place where New Orleans went wrong is along the very bottom blue area where there is only a small logo throughout the entire space. Teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers have recently gotten creative with that space, adding state themed words, an outline of the state of Ohio itself and even the city of Cleveland’s skyline. I am not sure what else could be placed in that vacant area, but I do know that it needs to be revamped. New Orleans as a city has too much to offer as a city for there not to be a solution out there somewhere.

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Overall, the navy blue color being involved with the Pelicans in general is pretty bland and a letdown. In the past, New Orleans has ventured with loud, flashy colors including purple and yellow when they were nicknamed the Jazz and teal when they were nicknamed the Hornets.

When I first heard that New Orleans was rebranding themselves as the “New Orleans Pelicans” the first color scheme that came to my mind was bright yellow and baby blue. Maybe it was because of my admiration for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans minor league baseball team, but either way, navy blue is never a color I associate with a Pelican.

The darkened gold that accents the logo is a nice fixture that deserves to forever be involved in the logo, but the blue and red that is present throughout does not resonate with a city known for its flashiness.

Although the logo as a whole leaves one wanting more, this new court design will let the rest of the league know that the Pelicans are the on the rise aesthetically.

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