As announced by Minor League Baseball, “The primary logo is an iconic representation of the firefly,” according to Hardball CEO Jason Freier. “We’ve got the silver wings, we have a luminous neon flame at the base of the abdomen. The emphasis of the ‘fire’ part of ‘fireflies’ points to one of the things Columbia is known for — the heat. Columbia’s slogan is ‘Famously Hot,’ so that’s the primary reason.”
The ownership group “gathered name suggestions from fans, their design partner, Sky Design, and from internal suggestions over the last year,” according to Minor League Baseball
The Fireflies will debut at their new home on April 14, 2016, at the newly-built Spirit Communications Park. They will remain a Class A team and a New York Mets affiliate.
This article appears in Aug 5-11, 2015.