Mike Coppinger

USA TODAY

The 31st addition to the NHL will forever be known as Sin City's inaugural major professional sports franchise.

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When the hockey players the hit the ice for the first time, fans now know what to call them: the Vegas Golden Knights.

The mascot name and logo was unveiled during a ceremony Tuesday (televised on NHL Network) outside the club's home, T-Mobile Arena, on the Las Vegas Strip.

The Golden Knights will open play during the NHL's 2017-18 season as the league's first expansion team since 2000. They'll join the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and will select players during an expansion draft next summer.

What might the NHL's Las Vegas expansion team look like next season?

It had been expected team owner Bill Foley would call his club the Knights, but it was uncertain what modifier would come in front of it. The reported finalists were Golden, Desert and Silver.

"We want our team to be known for dedication, honor, strength, courage and a commitment to never give up — both on the ice and off," said Foley at the naming event. "We want our team to be committed to teamwork, service to this great city and integrity in all things — and we wanted a name and logo that represented all of this and was unique to Las Vegas and our community. Vegas Golden Knights is that name."

Added Foley: "The Vegas Golden Knights team name and logo embody this great city and the mission of our team. When people see it, we want them to say 'These guys never give up. These guys are going to win.' "

Adidas began working on the logo in July, shortly before Foley told reporters he finalized the team moniker.

Per the team, the colors will be "steel grey, gold, red and black."

T-Mobile Arena holds 17,368 seats and hosted two Los Angeles Kings preseason contests in October.

Next year, though, the real games arrive, and they won't feature some other city's team.

Vegas will finally have a major professional sports franchise to call its own.