Rapid City Franchise Has A Name

Phoenix, AZ - Rapid City Professional Hockey has a name! The expansion franchise in Rapid City, South Dakota, slated for play during the 2008-09 season, announced on Thursday that they will be known as the "Rush". Rapid City General Manager Jason Rent made the announcement. The name was voted on in a name-the-team contest and was the winning selection of four potential names. Hundreds of applicants submitted team name suggestions with the final four being the Rush, the Bison, the Choppers and the Road Hogs. The Rush was the clear-cut winner gaining more than double the number of votes of the second choice, the Bison. "The response to the name-the-team contest went beyond our expectations," said Rent. "The support for naming the team Rapid City Rush was overwhelming. We certainly did not anticipate such a lopsided result, but we now feel we have a name that the majority of the community will be proud of." The name Rush goes hand-in-hand with Rapid City's proximity to Historic Mount Rushmore. Entrants whom submitted the winning team name were each entered into a grand prize drawing for VIP treatment at a home game during the team's opening season. The grand prize winner is Cathy Quinlivan of Rapid City. The grand prize includes limo service to and from a Rush game, two premium seats, participation in the ceremonial puck drop and two team jerseys. With the team name in place, additional announcements dealing with the team's logo, colors and mascot will be made in the coming weeks.