The Las Vegas Aviators, Triple-A affiliate of the Athletics in the Pacific Coast League, unveiled a suite of new secondary and cap logos that highlight aspects of their hometown’s connection to aviation. While the team name and primary mark remain unchanged, the inspiration behind the identity has shifted.
After nearly two decades playing as the Las Vegas 51s from 2001 to 2018, the team moved into a new ballpark and adopted a new name in 2019. The Aviators’ nickname was an homage to eccentric investor, Hollywood mogul, philanthropist, engineer, and record-setting pilot Howard Hughes, as played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2004 film The Aviator. Not coincidentally, the Howard Hughes Corporation had been the sole owner of the franchise since 2017.
In 2024, ownership of the franchise transferred to Seaport Entertainment Group, a spinoff of Howard Hughes Holdings. With the direct connection to their original namesake no longer intact, the team’s new Hughes-free logos were unveiled with a video highlighting other connections that Las Vegas has to aviation.
“Harry Reid International Airport welcomes record-setting crowds, connecting our fabulous city to the world and fueling our growth,” the team said. “Just north of us, Nellis Air Force Base stands as a cornerstone of our community. As the premier training facility for the armed forces, Nellis shapes the present and future of defence.”
The unveiling includes three new logos, which maintain the Aviators’ existing orange and navy colour palette. The first mark features a fighter pilot helmet with baseball seams across the top and the Vegas Strip reflected in the visor. The second shows an H-1 Racer plane (which was built in 1935 by the Howard Hughes Corporation) flying through the letter A. And third highlights the team’s mascot, Spruce the Goose, who is also named for a Hughes aircraft, the Spruce Goose, swinging a bat.
The new helmet-head logo will be worn on the front of a new orange alternate cap, the “A-Plane” logo on a blue alternate cap with a white front panel, and the new swinging goose logo on the team’s batting practice cap.
The Aviators begin their 2026 season on March 27 at home against the Salt Lake Bees.
