Press Releases

Charlotte Clothing Designer Will Help Design New Uniforms

JUNE 19, 2003 – Cary Mitchell, a nationally-recognized custom clothing designer who works extensively with professional athletes, will serve as a consultant to the Charlotte Bobcats on the design of the new team's uniform, it was announced today by Ed Tapscott, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the new NBA franchise.

“Cary is an innovator in the apparel design field who understands the needs and tastes of today's professional athletes,” Tapscott said. “He has played an integral role in the development of the team's identity, and we are excited about the possibilities Cary brings to the design of our new Charlotte Bobcats uniform.”

Mitchell, who has designed clothing for high-profile athletes including Tiger Woods, Tim Duncan, Ken Griffey, Jr., LeBron James, Yao Ming and Emmitt Smith, will join with Chicago-based NVU Productions, Reebok and the NBA to develop the club's uniform, which will feature the colors of “Bobcats Orange” and “Bobcats Blue” along with black and silver. The Bobcats are the only NBA team to feature orange as its primary color.

“We want to create a distinctive look for the Bobcats that combines performance with fashion,” said Mitchell, a Charlotte resident who is active on a variety of civic fronts and will donate his fee to area charities, including A Child's Place and the United Negro College Fund. “I am excited to be a part of the creation of our city's new NBA team identity, and I am pleased to be able to take this opportunity to support some of our community's great causes.”

Mitchell, who started Cary Mitchell Designs almost 15 years ago, is also the founder of The Legacy Basketball Classic, an annual fund-raiser benefiting historically black colleges and charities in the Charlotte area. The event, played during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend at the Charlotte Coliseum, has become one of the city's largest African-American sporting events. Mitchell also sits on the boards of Johnson C. Smith University, the Levine Museum of the New South, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and the Dell Curry Foundation.

The Charlotte Bobcats of the National Basketball Association and the Charlotte Sting of the Women's National Basketball Association are owned by Robert L. Johnson. The Charlotte Bobcats, who select fourth in the 2004 NBA Draft following an expansion draft of players from other NBA teams, will play their inaugural season in 2004-2005 at the Charlotte Coliseum before moving to Charlotte's new Uptown arena beginning with the 2005-2006 NBA season.