The Timberwolves' new T-Wolves Gaming franchise in the NBA's newish 2K League unveiled its logo and plans for a training center Tuesday as it prepares for an inaugural season that begins in April.
The logo is a variation on the wolf-head theme already used by its NBA and WNBA franchises and features variations of the blue and green colors that identify the Timberwolves and Lynx.
The training center will be visible to passers-by on Mayo Clinic Square's skyway level near Target Center in downtown Minneapolis. It will include players' practice and training space as well as team operations office space. It will occupy the space formerly known as the Experience Center.
It also will closely resemble the design of the NBA 2K League's Long Island City, N.Y., studio from which the league's 21 teams will compete on alternating weekends from April through August. The game space will have exposed ceilings and an elevated gaming platform with six player stations for practices, events and streaming.
In a statement that announced the new facility, Wolves and Lynx CEO Ethan Casson called the new training facility an opportunity to create a home for the new entity – the franchise's fourth after the Wolves, Lynx and their Iowa G-League team – while building "brand awareness" and expanding the Mayo Clinic Square Courts campus.
The gaming franchise is part of the first official "e-sports" league operated by a U.S. professional sports league.
