YORK, Pa. — DownTown, the mascot of the York Revolution, has a new look.
The team unveiled a slimmed-down, different-colored version of the 13-year-old mascot on Wednesday.
DownTown's new look was originally planned to be unveiled during this year's Opening Day ceremonies at PeoplesBank Park, but the team decided its fans could use a "positive look ahead" while social distancing rules are in place due to the COVID-19 outbreak, general manager John Gibson said in a press release.
“We know fans are disappointed by the delays in our season, so we wanted to give them something exciting to look forward to while they wait a bit longer to get their Revs baseball fix,” said Gibson.
The biggest change is in DownTown's fur color, which has changed from blue to gold. There are also more subtle changes to Downtown's facial features and hands.
His jersey and shoes also were tweaked, Gibson said.
“There are certain things, like DownTown’s friendly eyes, that fun beak-like nose, and his big feet, that are just essential parts of him, so we were very careful not to tweak those too much,” Gibson said. “Even the changes we made, like his most prominent color, are still in touch with the larger Revolution brand that fans have supported so passionately. We’ve just given him a kind of bold freshening up.”
The jersey was given a new logo, with flames coming out of the tailpipe -- a nod to one of Gibson's favorite TV personalities, Food Network host Guy Fieri.
“As we were getting closer to the final designs, the new DownTown look reminded me of Guy Fieri, with those gold highlights in his hair and goatee,” Gibson said. “I knew we didn’t want to go so far as to rename him Flavortown, but I like Fieri and wanted a little nod to him, so we gave the uniform the Revolution logo with flames coming out of the tailpipe as a nod to some of the flames Guy wears on his shirts and such.”
Asked what prompted the update to DownTown’s look, Gibson pointed back to the mascot’s connections to perhaps baseball’s most infamous mascot, the Philly Phanatic.
DownTown’s first designs were created by Dave Raymond, the original Philly Phanatic.
“When the Phillies announced changes to their famous mascot earlier this year, it reminded us of our connections to him – and that DownTown had not had a makeover in all the time we’ve known him,” Gibson explained.
Unlike that of his more well-known counterpart in Philadelphia, however, DownTown’s likeness is wholly owned by the Revolution, making the process of developing his new look and then implementing the changes a more streamlined experience in York.
Gibson said DownTown is very excited to show off his new look, but team officials have told him he’ll have to wait until it is safe again to exchange his famous hi-fives with fans.
“You know, he’s a teenager, so he’s got a lot of energy and wants to hang with his friends,” Gibson added. “But he knows safety comes first, so he’s waiting. He gets it.”
