Evansville Thunderbolts

The Evansville Thunderbolts are an expansion team from Evansville, Indiana. The team commences play with the 2016-17 season. They will play in the Southern Professional Hockey League at the Ford Center.

The junior team announced they would be known as the Junior Thunderbolts in April of 2016 SPHL team after the areas new Southern Professional Hockey League franchise announced it was taking the name Evansville Thunderbolts when they start play in the fall of 2016. There is no management/ownership connection between the two organizations.

Name selection
On April 15, 2016 the team's nickname was announced. The team name was chosen during a fan-naming contest that accumulated over 1,900 entries. The most popular nickname, Thunderbolts, was suggested three times more than the second most popular name.

The name pays tribute to the P-47 Republic Thunderbolt fighter plane that was built in Evansville during *World War II*. During the war Evansville became one of the United States’ greatest war production centers. The Thunderbolt logo incorporates the plane as well as the checkerboard design painted near a fighter's propeller. The team colors will be red, white and blue to represent the Four Freedoms Monument located on the Ohio Riverfront in downtown Evansville.