The Las Vegas Desert Dogs are a professional box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) that began play in December 2022 at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas. The franchise was officially introduced in June 2021 as the league’s 15th team, with an ownership group that includes Wayne Gretzky, Dustin Johnson, Steve Nash and Joe Tsai. The team name and logo were unveiled on April 26, 2022, following a naming process that considered over 2,000 fan submissions and surveys throughout Las Vegas. [1]
Design and History
The primary logo features a dog head facing the viewer with an “LV” on its forehead and crossed lacrosse sticks behind it. The mark is rendered in black and white, a scheme the team describes as resembling the desert night, “dark as a starry night, bright as the desert light.” [2] The team’s official trademark filing describes the mark as “a dog head intersected by two crossed lacrosse sticks, above the wording LAS VEGAS DESERT DOGS.” [3]
CEO Mark Fine said the name was chosen from over 2,500 fan submissions on the team’s website because it represented both the organization and the community. “We believe the Desert Dog is a perfect embodiment of Las Vegas, fast, scrappy, and powerful alone but unstoppable as a pack,” Fine told the Las Vegas Review-Journal at the unveiling. The team worked on the final name, logo and team direction for several months leading up to the announcement. [4]
The logo has remained the team’s primary mark since its introduction for the inaugural 2022-23 season. No redesign has been documented.
Meaning and Symbolism
The team’s official website provides documented meaning for the logo’s elements. The Desert Dog represents “humility, hard work, team orientation, and loyalty,” while sharp lines are intended to convey “scrappiness, aggression and fierceness.” The sleek nature of the dog and the font represent “the forward-thinking and tech-oriented vibe and energy of Las Vegas.” The “LV” on the forehead is described as “our badge of honor for the city we call home.” The black and white color scheme resembles the desert night, “when the Desert Dogs roam free and command the respect of their domain.” [5]
Fine elaborated on the name’s meaning at the unveiling: “The pack mentality represents qualities of teamwork, loyalty, humility and hard work. It’s also the perfect embodiment of our team and our business, we move fast and innovate quickly, we’re scrappy and entrepreneurial, and we also have a pack mentality that means we look after our own, including our community here in Vegas.” [4]
Typography and Design
The team’s official website states that the font used in the logo was designed to convey the same forward-thinking, tech-oriented qualities as the dog mark itself. [5] No specific typeface name or designer attribution has been publicly documented. The logo’s construction combines the dog head with crossed lacrosse sticks behind it and the team name in lettering below, per the trademark registration. [3]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
