Blue, Red, and White

Lore & Background

When the NHL announced Columbus as an expansion market in 1997, the city had never hosted a major professional hockey team. The name and colors were chosen to feel both historic and distinctly American: the 'Blue Jackets' moniker nods to a 1912 silent film, lending the franchise a vintage, almost cinematic gravitas, while the blue-red-white palette echoes the flag that flies above Nationwide Arena on every game night. The design brief was simple—make a jersey that looks like it belongs in a century-old locker room and a modern arena at the same time.

The result was a visual identity that fans latched onto immediately. The deep blue dominates the primary jersey, the red provides the trim and the secondary accent, and white grounds everything with a crisp, clean contrast. On the ice, three skaters in that combination are instantly readable from the upper deck, and in the stands, a crowd in matching colors creates a wall of blue and red that has become one of the most recognizable sightlines in the Eastern Conference.

Over the years the colors have carried weight beyond the rink. They appear on the 'Jax' logo, on the arena's exterior signage, on the city's fan merchandise, and in the spontaneous displays—face paint, scarves, the famous 'J' held aloft by thousands of supporters. The tri-color scheme became a civic symbol in a city that had waited decades for a team to call home.

In Their Own Story

The arena is half-full when the first skater laces up in the tunnel. The blue of his jersey catches the overhead lights and throws a long shadow across the white ice. A child in the front row, face painted in red and white stripes, presses her palm flat against the glass. The Zamboni's hiss fades. The puck drops, and for one frozen second the whole building holds its breath—then the crowd detonates, a wall of blue and red roaring so loud the glass vibrates. Somewhere in the stands, a man in a faded blue jacket from the inaugural season claps his hands and smiles, as if the color itself is the victory.

Reader's Guide

Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, is where Blue, Red, and White come alive. The building was built specifically for the Blue Jackets, opening for the 2000–01 season, and its design channels the tri-color identity from the moment you walk in: blue dominates the concourse walls, red accents the seating rows, and white pops in the signage and ice-level trim.

For supporters, the colors are more than a brand. Wearing blue to a home game is a quiet declaration of belonging. The red-and-white face paint, the scarves, the sea of navy jerseys in the upper bowl—these are rituals that turn a Tuesday night into a community event. Fans often describe the feeling of a full arena in Blue Jackets colors as 'a different kind of loud,' a bass-heavy, chest-rumbling roar that you feel before you hear it.

The 'Jax' logo, rendered in blue with red and white detailing, is the visual anchor. You'll see it on everything from coffee cups in the concourse to the giant scoreboard above center ice. For a city that had waited a long time for a hockey team, those three colors became the visual proof that the wait was over.

Did You Know?

• The franchise name 'Blue Jackets' is a reference to a 1912 silent film, giving the team a vintage, cinematic edge from day one.
• Nationwide Arena was purpose-built for the Blue Jackets and opened for the franchise's inaugural 2000–01 season, making the colors and the venue inseparable from the team's origin story.
• The blue-red-white palette was deliberately chosen to evoke the American flag, giving the new Ohio franchise a patriotic visual identity that resonated with the community.
• The 'Jax' logo—a stylized letter J incorporating a hockey stick—has been the franchise's primary emblem since its founding and appears in all three team colors.