ASHEBORO — Asheboro’s summer collegiate baseball team has a new name.
It’s the Asheboro ZooKeepers.
Formerly known as the Asheboro Copperheads, the Coastal Plain League team announced Monday that it has a new name.
The team, which was founded in 1999, blasted Guns ‘N Roses’s “Welcome to the Jungle” as it unveiled logos and uniforms at Asheboro Recreation Center.
The team’s colors will change to a safari-theme with tan and brown dominating the logo and uniforms. Gone will be the burnt orange and black of the Copperheads. According to a release from the team, the ZooKeepers will have four official colors: khaki, brown, black, and jungle green.
“Over the past year or so, we took a long look at our brand and thought this was an ideal time to create something new and fresh,” owner Doug Pugh said in a statement. “We’ve always been focused on delivering a fun product for the whole family, so what better theme to build off than Asheboro’s biggest attraction? ZooKeepers was a no-brainer.”
Asheboro is home to the North Carolina Zoo.
The rebranding was overseen by Skye Design Studios.
“The club had been reflecting on its identity for about a year or so, thinking about ways to reinvent their brand to maximize their connection to the local community,” Skye Design Studios founder Skye Dillon said in a statement. “The North Carolina Zoo is one of the state’s most notable attractions, and is located in Asheboro. The zoo’s family-oriented values and prominence in the local region made it the obvious starting point for the club’s new name.”
The suite of logos features a zoo keeper, complete with traditional zoo keeper hat, swinging a baseball bat and accompanied by a rhino, giraffe, elephant, and snake. Dillon said there were a handful of considerations that went into selecting the animals included in the logo.
“To be as authentic as possible, they had to be animals present at the North Carolina Zoo,” he said. “We also picked ones that likely would not ever be the centerpiece of another club identity in the league, staying away from animals such as tigers, lions, and bears.”
The team also announced that it is planning cross-promotions with the North Carolina Zoo.
“We would love to see families plan outings where they visit both the zoo and the ballpark throughout the season,” ZooKeepers general manager and coach Jeremy Knight said. “As far as the baseball, we will always be committed to fielding some of the best rising talent in the sport and giving our players a stage to hone their skills. Aligning with the zoo concept will enhance the experience for anyone at the ballpark – fans or players – and should be a win-win for our community.”
The team plays its games at McCrary Park, which is receiving a massive renovation ahead of the 2022 season.
More announcements are coming from the team. Two additional spin-offs of the ZooKeepers brand will be forthcoming. The team didn’t unveil away game uniforms at the announcement for the new name.
