Though prospective Penguins Owner Mario Lemieux has yet
to gain control, he has retained Pittsburgh-based ad agency
BrabenderCox Inc. to create a new logo for the team,
according to Tascarella & Elliott of the PITTSBURGH BUSINESS
TIMES. Sources close to the Lemieux group have said the
team's investors "are not happy with the team's current
look," and BrabenderCox has hired three local design firms -
- Group 2 Design, The Idea Mill and Vance Wright Adams &
Associates, which designed the current logo -- to develop a
new Penguins logo. BrabenderCox Exec VP John Verbanac: "All
three were excited about the opportunity and we felt they
would do a good job and come in with novel ideas." Verbanac
added that the firms' recommendations are expected to be
submitted this week. But the earliest merchandise with the
new logo that could appear in stores wouldn't be until the
start of the 2000 season (PITTSBURGH BUS. TIMES, 8/23).
OFF TO A SOLID START: The Penguins are "way ahead" of
last year's pace with the equivalent of 7,600 full season-
ticket packages already sold. They sold 8,300 all of last
season (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 8/25)
