The new OHL team in Flint will be called the Firebirds when they take the Perani Arena ice next fall.

The newly-named Firedbirds held a press conference in Flint today to formally announce their naming decision.

Costa Papista, president of President of IMS Hockey Corp., said that the name selection is about more than just a new hockey team.

“When we saw the suggested moniker ‘Firebirds,’ we recognized that it bore a meaning outside of hockey,” Papista said in a release on FlintFirebirds.com. “Flint is a community that has been built and sustained on the fierce resilience of its residents, and we see the Firebird as a symbol of that resilience.”

According to the release, the name was suggested by lifelong Genesee County resident and hockey fan Tom Barden.

“Once I saw that ‘Phoenix’ was out, I thought that ‘Firebirds’ was similar. It still means ‘Rising from the ashes.’

“I’ve seen good times and the bad, and we’re seeing the good again.”

Flynnagain Productions of Mississauga, Ontario designed the logo and uniform for the Flint franchise, with CCM-Reebok also contributing to the uniform design and color coordination.

A link circulating with the trademark detals – you can see that here – describes the new Firebirds logo as follows:

The mark consists of of grey bird with a navy outline and white highlights, with its wings spread out. There is an orange background behind the wings of the bird. The bird has orange fire coming out of its beak. The bird is on top of the literal element of the logo “Flint Firebirds”. The letters of the literal element “Flint Firebirds” are white with grey and a navy outline. Below the literal element is a hockey puck in orange with navy shadows and a circular arrow in grey. There is a grey outline around the whole logo.

The team also has a new Twitter account – @FlintFirebirds – and a new Facebook page.

We are the Flint Firebirds! pic.twitter.com/gXvyUbZuOM — Flint Firebirds (@FlintFirebirds) March 16, 2015

Image from their Facebook page:

Here are the trademark filings: