Edmonton Elks: CFL club announces new name

© David Bajer/CBC News Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium, located just east of the city’s downtown, as seen in May 2021. The football club officially adopted a new name Tuesday.

Edmonton’s CFL team will now be known as the Edmonton Elks. 

The football club officially announced its new name during a news conference Tuesday, following a year-long consultation process involving team partners and fans.

During the news conference, team president and CEO Chris Presson said the team was proud to announce the name and said he felt confident they had taken the time needed to “get it right.”

Edmonton’s CFL franchise dropped the name Eskimos last year. It followed a similar decision by the NFL’s Washington team as pressure mounts on teams to eliminate racist or stereotypical names.

The controversy surrounding the old name had plagued the franchise for years and sponsors had recently threatened to withdraw support if the team did not change its moniker.

Last July, the board of directors announced that it would drop the name and engage in a “comprehensive engagement process” to find a suitable replacement. 

Fans were asked to weigh in on a shortlist of seven candidates for the new name. Elk, Evergreens, Evergolds, Eclipse, Elkhounds, Eagles and Elements were all listed as possibilities, in an online survey released in February.

The team, founded in 1949, has been known as the Edmonton Football Team or EE Football Team since dumping the old name. The team’s logo continues to feature two Es.