Stevenage Football Club, based in Hertfordshire, England, adopted its current circular crest in June 2019, replacing a coat-of-arms style badge that had been in use since 1996. The redesign was announced by the club on 1 June 2019, with the new mark designed for use from the 2019-20 season onward. [1]
Design and History
The club has used five crests since its formation in 1976. The first crest was created in 1980 when Stevenage took on senior status, adopting the town’s civic emblem as the basis of the design. [2] A hart, a male red deer, features on both the Stevenage and Hertfordshire coats of arms and has been a recurring symbol on the club’s crests. [2]
The crest was adjusted in 2010 to remove the word “Borough”, following the club’s name change ahead of its first season in the Football League. [2] Ahead of the 2011-12 season, the crest was modified by being placed within a shield, but the club reverted to the previous version two years later. [2]
The current crest was created in June 2019, with the hart “brought to the forefront of the new design”. [2] The club stated that the previous crest “presented modern-day challenges due to its complex and detailed design” and that the new circular design enabled the club to create a more visible identity on both a commercial and social level. [2] Chief executive Alex Tunbridge described the change as “a positive step forward for the Club whilst ensuring that our history and heritage remains central to our identity.” [1]
Meaning and Symbolism
The central hart is the key symbol of the current crest. [3] The hart appears on both the Stevenage and Hertfordshire coats of arms, linking the club to its local and county heritage. [2] The current badge is a red circular crest with a gold outer ring, the club name around the top, “1976” split across the sides, and a central gold hart in front of red-and-white stripes. [3]
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