The New Orleans Hornets plan to announce the official change of their nickname to the Pelicans and unveil their new colors and logo during a news conference Thursday, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The new nickname, colors and logo will be used during the 2013-14 season. The colors will be blue, gold and red. Yahoo! Sports first reported the expected change Dec. 4. The Hornets had been expected to change their identity since being purchased by Tom Benson on April 14.

The name “Pelicans” has received a lot of criticism from Hornets fans and NBA followers. During the news conference, a video is expected to be shown explaining the history behind the nickname and what it means to New Orleans and the state. There was similar resistance when the Seatte SuperSonics changed their nickname to Thunder when the franchise moved to Oklahoma City in 2008, but now the nickname is widely accepted.

via Marc J. Spears of YAHOO! Sports