Following the name change announcement, Ken Babby says he's aware that many Suns fans are angry about the change, but he also thinks most people will come around by Opening Day.
"It takes a couple of weeks, a few months (for most fans)," Babby said. "There will still be people, for months and even years, that sort of say 'Why? Why did you do this?' and that's OK."
It's something that Babby — who also owns the Akron RubberDucks — has seen before. He says many Aeros fans also reacted similarly when the RubberDucks were introduced in 2014.
"It's a very similar process," Babby said when asked to compare the two name changes. "(The RubberDucks) met initially with a great deal of resistance and we were OK with that. (The Akron) ballpark was full (on) Opening Day (the) first time we took the field as the RubberDucks."
Babby expects a similar sort of process to play out with the Jumbo Shrimp, though he admits that some fans will likely never embrace it, especially considering that the Suns have been synonymous with Jacksonville's pro baseball team since 1962.
When asked why the change to the Jumbo Shrimp, Babby answered that it was a "fun" and "quirky" name that went well with the "affordable family fun" theme and with Jacksonville's "Bold City" nickname.
"We wanted a brand that aligns with who we are as a community," Babby stated. "A logo with a tough, tenacious shrimp ... it's obviously paying homage to the military in the community (and to) Mayport shrimp. You see 'Jacksonville' with the river running through it, really paying tribute to the rivers and waterways of our region."
Not everything is changing, though. Southpaw — the team's mascot with the Suns — will remain as the Jumbo Shrimp mascot. General Manager Harold Craw says getting rid of such a popular mascot was never seriously considered.
"He's great to have here," Craw said. "It just made sense to keep Southpaw here."
Craw and Babby both admitted that they expect to see a spike in merchandise sales, with Craw saying that the team's online store saw "a run" on Suns gear once rumors of the name change started swirling around.
Babby insisted that the money generated from those sales isn't enough to pay for updating all that needs changing, including the signage around the stadium.
"There's a belief that these kinds of changes are only made because of merchandise," Babby said. "Marketing and merchandise isn't the leading reason why you take something like this on. We're trying to build an experience that matches what we're building at the ballpark."
Jacksonville City Council member Tommy Hazouri — one of the six people who modeled the new uniforms during the announcement — said he's confident the team is making the right move by embracing this new identity.
"Ken Babby has really adopted Jacksonville as his home," Hazouri said. "I don't have any reservations when someone invests $25 million dollars or more in a team."
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