SMR creates Mascot

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Lakewood Ranch has a new chick in town.

And its red head, long skinny legs and feathery beige coat leave little to be desired except one thing — a name.

Lakewood Ranch developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch now has a mascot, a sandhill crane.

“It’s the new member of our SMR family,” said Antonio Saviano, director of sports for Premier Sports Campus, a 140-acre sports campus owned by SMR. “We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet.”

SMR officials will kick off a “name the crane” contest for the bird when it makes its public debut at the Nov. 7 Music on Main, on Lakewood Ranch Main Street. The crane will come wearing a “Name me” T-shirt to promote the contest.

Rachel Gray, events, promotions and website manager for SMR, said the crane will be used to promote Lakewood Ranch in general. Community members will see it at sporting events, Music on Main and other Lakewood Ranch events. It often will wear T-shirts promoting events such as Winterfest, polo and other festivities.

Saviano hatched the idea for the mascot, whose costume was custom made by a Canadian-based company, Custom Mascot.

“It relates to anyone — kids, adults,” Saviano said of the mascot. “We thought because you see sandhill cranes in Lakewood Ranch, this would be a good one for us.”

Although most mascots rev up crowds with dancing, cheering and silly antics, SMR’s emblem will remain calm. At more than 7 feet tall, its long neck will limit its enthusiasm, at least physically.

“This is a laid-back mascot,” Saviano said. “With its long neck, it can’t be too animated.”

There is a contest to name the mascot and Saviano said he seeks volunteers for the mascot position.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

Name that bird
To name Schroeder-Manatee Ranch’s new mascot, a sandhill crane, visit premiersportscampus.com/contest.

The contest winner will earn four tickets to SMR’s 2015 Winterfest concert.