Indians officially changing name to Guardians this week

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Indians will officially transition to Guardians on Friday, completing a name change that has been happening in stages over the past few months.

The team sent out a release on Wednesday saying its team shop at Progressive Field will begin selling Guardians merchandise and souvenirs later this week. The store at the team's downtown ballpark will exclusively sell Guardians gear before it becomes available at retail outlets in northeast Ohio on Nov. 23.

The team said some digital elements will change Thursday before Cleveland's team website and social media handles transition on Friday.

On Tuesday, the AL franchise cleared a final hurdle in the makeover as a lawsuit filed by a local roller derby team called the Guardians was resolved. The sides agreed to move forward with both teams using Guardians.

Cleveland's Major League Baseball team has been known as the Indians since 1915. But after years of protests and following the club dropping its contentious Chief Wahoo logo, the Indians decided to change to Guardians, a name inspired by eight massive, art-deco statues on the Hope Memorial Bridge near the ballpark.

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