Season-Ticket Holders, Sponsors Praise Padres New Brown Uniforms

Padres' season-ticket holders and sponsors seemed to "enthusiastically endorse" the team's new uniforms while watching a video during the "Brown is Back" event that showed players "wearing the new white home jersey with brown pinstripes," according to Kevin Acee of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Padres SS Fernando Tatis Jr., 1B Eric Hosmer and 3B Manny Machado on Saturday "modeled the new Padres uniforms" for the "Brown is Back" event at Petco Park. Tatis first appeared on stage in the "all-tan alternate road jersey with the brown pinstripes." Next, Hosmer appeared in the "primary road jersey, solid sand pants and a dark brown top." Lastly, Machado appeared "wearing the home jersey." The Swinging Friar is featured on the "left sleeve of all three jerseys." Co-founders of the "Bring Back The Brown" grassroots organization Jordan Stark and Tony Martinez "seemed to be largely pleased with the result of more than two years of research and testing" by the team. The brown and gold is a "return to what many consider the traditional Padres uniform," which is the "combination the team wore in various forms over its first 16 seasons." The home uniform also features a "revamped Padres wordmark across the front," which is "less-rounded from the first letter to the last and the 'P' and 'S' were shrunk to be the same size as the rest of the word." With over $1M invested into the project, Padres Exec Chair Ron Fowler has said that "this will be the last" uniform change while "he's in charge" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 11/10).

FOR THE FANS: SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL's Eric Prisbell writes during a series of 10 focus group sessions, a total of "nearly 300 participants -- all strong Padres fans, ranging in age from 12 to 80 -- sat in a room at Petco Park holding a dial they adjusted to record their fondness for a particular uniform color scheme that was displayed." The team was "determined to go in whatever direction the research" took it. While "no color scheme earned a majority of support," the brown-and-gold supporters were the "strongest -- and most passionate -- minority." The fans who "grew up watching the team wear blue, orange and white en route" to a '98 World Series appearance "weren't necessarily wedded to those colors." In addition, the team wanted to look "markedly different than a certain franchise located just a few hours up the Southern California coastline." Padres Senior VP & CMO Wayne Partello said, "We're not L.A., and everyone here is really proud of that. To have a uniform set that is close in color [to the Dodgers] -- blue and white -- just didn't sit well with our fans. They wanted something they could own, that could be theirs. This is who we are" (SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 11/11 issue). The AP noted Padres "fans have clamored for years for a return to the brown." Fowler: "People wanted brown and we gave it to them" (AP, 11/10).

RIGHT NEXT DOOR: In Phoenix, Nick Piecoro wrote the D-backs are "making more changes to their uniforms, moves that further walk back the radical designs they unveiled four years ago." The D-backs "no longer will wear dark gray jerseys on the road, and all of their uniforms -- home and road -- will no longer feature the gradient pattern on the shoulders or down the sides." The new look appears "cleaner, toned down and simplified." D-backs Exec VP/Business Operations & CRO Cullen Maxey called the changes "subtle." Maxey also said that "the team is moving away from the dark gray uniforms because of how they appeared" on TV (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 11/9).