New NHL team named Vegas Golden Knights

The Vegas Golden Knights is the name of the National Hockey League's newest team.

The NHL's newest team will be called the Vegas Golden Knights.

Owner Bill Foley and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the Las Vegas expansion franchise's name on Tuesday night and revealed logo and colours at a gala ceremony for about 5000 fans outside T-Mobile Arena, where the Golden Knights will play next season.

The logo is a simple front view of a fighting helmet with a conspicuous "V" in the middle. Their colours are steel grey, gold, red and black.

"Our logo and our name is really going to exhibit the highest element of the warrior class - the knight," Foley told the crowd.

"The knight protects the unprotected. The knight defends the realm. The knight never gives up, never gives in, always advances, never retreats. And that is what our team is going to be."

The NHL awarded its 31st franchise in June to Las Vegas in the Mojave Desert. Foley is a billionaire businessman who sold the league on the potential of being the first major pro sports franchise in the growing market while playing in a new $US375 million ($A505 million) arena.

Foley paid $US500 million ($A673 million) as an expansion fee to the other 30 ownership groups, and the West Point graduate strongly considered naming his team the Black Knights in honour of his Army roots.

He changed his mind during the lengthy process of developing a brand and an identity for his team, but Foley kept a military touch in the name despite some local criticism for its lack of a connection to Las Vegas. Foley has said the team didn't want to include an overt gambling reference in the name, but also considered Desert Knights and Silver Knights.

"I'm very proud of our name, and I'm very proud of our logo," Foley said.

The team has been enthusiastically received in southern Nevada, which is getting the first major professional sports franchise in a market of nearly 1.4 million. Foley's successful drive landed several thousand deposits on season tickets months before the NHL officially granted a team to the city.

The Golden Knights immediately began selling team merchandise at the announcement.


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Source: AAP



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