Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team is now the Guardians — and it’s official with new merchandise.
As of Friday morning (November 19) at 9 a.m., the Team Shop at Progressive Field will start selling the new brand. The Cleveland Indians shared photos of the new merch in a tweet on Thursday morning (November 18), noting that the Team Store will remain open until 7 p.m.: “Can't wait to see you there!”
The new merch hits the shelves days after the Cleveland Guardians Baseball Company and a Cleveland roller derby team of the same name reached an agreement about use of the name. The parties issued a joint statement: “The Cleveland Guardians Baseball Company, LLC and Guardians Roller Derby are pleased to announce an amicable resolution of the lawsuit filed by Guardians Roller Derby, whereby both organizations will continue to use the Guardians name.”
Before reaching a resolution, the sale of Cleveland Guardians baseball merchandise was postponed without explanation. The Cleveland Guardians roller derby team filed suit last month, aiming to block the MLB team from using the same name. The roller derby team argued in the filing that since the team came first, it “is thus entitled to an injunction under both federal and Ohio law against Defendant changing its team name to ‘Cleveland Guardians,’ causing confusion, and destroying Plaintiff’s trademark rights.”
The former Cleveland Indians announced earlier this year that “Guardians” would be the new team name, after narrowing down a list of about 1,200 options. Owner Paul Dolan explained at the time:
“‘Guardians’ reflects those attributes that define us while drawing on the iconic Guardians of Traffic just outside the ballpark on the Hope Memorial Bridge. It brings to life the pride Clevelanders take in our city, and the way we fight together for all who choose to be part of the Cleveland baseball family. While ‘Indians’ will always be a part of our history, our new name will help unify our fans and city as we are all Cleveland Guardians.”