An A’s name change rumor prompted a sudden domain buying spree

The A’s, MLB‘s most frequently relocated franchise that currently calls West Sacramento home, won’t be called the “Black Fire” whenever they are cleared to move into their under-construction Las Vegas ballpark. Probably.

“Black Fire Innovation” is the name of a co-working space located at the Harry Reid Research and Technology Park in Las Vegas. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the complex is hosting more than 100 companies and 1,000 employees; the A’s “Ballpark Experience Center” is among the current tenants.

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So when the A’s posted job openings that listed “Las Vegas Black Fire” as the location, it made sense to anyone who’s plopped their laptop down for a few hours at the six-year-old corporate lab.

To those speculating that the A’s might change their name after leaving Sacramento, the job listings set off a frenzy.

Rally Cap, a baseball-themed show, devoted a 5-minute segment on April 25 to ponder the possibility of the “Black Fire” replacing “A’s” as the team’s longstanding nickname.

The dominoes of speculation fell quickly. According to SFGate.com, three website URLs were purchased and registered on Monday: lvblackfire.com, lasvegasblackfire.com and blackfirelasvegas.com. A fourth domain, blackfirebaseball.com, was purchased and registered on Tuesday, according to the outlet.

The idea of a name change isn’t completely out of left field, even as the “Athletics” nickname has survived franchise relocation from Philadelphia to Kansas City to Oakland to Sacramento. They have already tried and failed to register the “Las Vegas Athletics” trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

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For what it’s worth, the rumors led the A’s to remove the initial job posts, then rewrite them without “Black Fire” listed as the location.

The change came too late for at least one graphic designer, who mocked up Black Fire wordmarks, logos and a jersey set to his Instagram account on April 28.

Two things can be true here: those jerseys can be, well, fire — and the team can be undecided on what to call itself once it relocates. Perhaps a few more mockups will nudge them out of the frying pan.

For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports.

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