The Jazz yesterday rolled out their "new Nike 'City Edition' uniform," which was "inspired by the state of Utah’s natural beauty, including the red rocks, canyon lands, arches, and vistas throughout the southern region," according to Eric Woodyard of the DESERET NEWS. The word "UTAH" is "planted across the chest of the uniform as the colorway drops the traditional green, purple and gold colors for a colorful jersey that fades from bright gold to deep burgundy." The Jazz will debut the uniforms for their Jan. 30 home game against the Warriors, along with a "matching alternative basketball court." The court also "carries the theme of southern Utah’s red rocks and canyon lands with a gradiation of colors and a new 'Jazz state logo' inside the three-point lines on both ends." The Jazz will "sport the red rock uniforms for nine games this season, including six at home." Most NBA teams "represent a city, but in Utah the Jazz represent the entire state so Nike designers drew inspiration for the gradient jerseys from an untraditional source" (DESERET NEWS, 12/26). In Salt Lake City, Kyle Goon notes the Jazz "wanted something beyond the norm" with their City uniforms. When Nike first approached the team a year ago about jersey concepts, the Jazz "asked the company to look a little deeper." Jazz President Steve Starks: "They came with some initial concepts that we liked -- I think they would’ve been enjoyed by the fans. But we challenged Nike to come back with something really creative. We wanted to be aggressive with this jersey and do something out of the box.” Starks said that the outfitter’s design team "drew inspiration from Utah’s five national parks when designing the concept." They also "reached outside planetary bounds, drawing inspiration from" the '15 film “The Martian” when "looking for colors that would really pop from their threads" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 12/26).
