The Howard Hughes Corporation®, owner of the city's professional Triple-A baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL), and developer of the Summerlin® master planned community and the Las Vegas Ballpark® located at Downtown Summerlin®, announced on December 8, 2018 the team's new name - the Las Vegas Aviators®.

The name change completed a rebrand that included the team's new two-year Player Development Contract (PDC) with the Oakland Athletics and the opening of the Las Vegas Ballpark (April of 2019), the new, state-of-the-art Triple-A baseball stadium, that will serve as the new home of the Aviators!

According to David Weinreb, CEO of The Howard Hughes Corporation, the name change pays homage to the company's namesake, Howard R. Hughes, Jr., one of the twentieth century's most successful businessmen whose passion for aviation and legacy of innovation includes significant aviation-related firsts and accomplishments. In the H-1 Racer, a plane he designed and built, Hughes set the land speed record of 352 miles per hour in 1935. Hughes went on to set other records, including the fastest coast-to-coast flight in 1937 and the fastest circumnavigation of the globe in 1938, then acquiring and successfully operating major airlines and aviation companies.

"Hughes' vision and ambition were unmatched," said Weinreb. "That, along with his imprint on Las Vegas where his legacy has helped shape the community for more than three decades, makes the decision to name the team in his honor an easy one. The Las Vegas Aviators is the perfect name for the city's oldest professional sports team, one that is now launching an exciting new chapter with a brand-new stadium in Summerlin and a new major league affiliation."

The name, the Las Vegas Aviators, was chosen from hundreds of names submitted by the public through a competition in which the community was invited to participate in the naming process.

According to Weinreb, the Aviators was a popular name nominated by many Southern Nevadans.

"Everyone is excited about our new name," said Don Logan, the team's President, and Chief Operating Officer, who has been with the franchise for 35 years. "With new ownership, our impending move into the Las Vegas Ballpark and our new professional affiliation, this is the perfect time to rebrand the city's beloved baseball team. The Aviators was a popular nomination from our fans, and it's a fitting new moniker for the city's first professional sports franchise as we start our next exciting chapter."