Commentary: How the Dodgers' new minor league team in Ontario came up with its name

"For the city of Ontario and its architects, the rendering of its minor league ballpark included a team name. A placeholder, that is. The new team owners did not yet own the team. The name would come later. The Dodgers' California League team would not move in until 2026. On that drawing last year: the Ontario Sky Mules, with a whimsical logo of a grinning donkey wearing sunglasses and flying a prop plane. It was, frankly, awesome."

"This year, the newly hired team staff dropped hints about the actual name, about the buzz in town. On the walls of the team offices: "Cleared for Takeoff." The city referenced ballpark fan zones nicknamed "The Airfield" and "The Tarmac." And, just last week, the biggest hint of all: the announcement of a naming rights deal with Ontario International Airport, close enough to the ballpark that you'll be able to see flights take off. The ballpark name: ONT Field (spell it out: O-N-T, like LAX)."

"On Thursday, eight months in advance of its first game, the team finally revealed its name: the Ontario Tower Buzzers. It's an homage to the movie "Top Gun," and to the defiant line uttered by the pilot played by Tom Cruise: "It's time to buzz the tower." The Tower Buzzers' mascot, a bee called Maverick, is named after Cruise's character. The team name balances heritage and whimsy."

The city of Ontario developed a new minor-league ballpark that included a placeholder team name during planning. The Dodgers' California League team will not move in until 2026. Early artwork showed the Ontario Sky Mules, a whimsical grinning donkey wearing sunglasses and flying a prop plane. Team staff displayed aviation-themed hints such as "Cleared for Takeoff" and fan zones called "The Airfield" and "The Tarmac." A naming-rights deal with Ontario International Airport produced the ballpark name ONT Field. The announced team name is the Ontario Tower Buzzers, an homage to Top Gun, with a bee mascot called Maverick. The city is funding the ballpark and linking branding to the airport's World War II air base heritage.

Read at Los Angeles Times