LUTZ -- Make way for the Steinbrenner High School Warriors. You will know them by their scrappy new mascot and their navy and gold uniforms.

The potential mascots first suggested for the new school -- named for legendary New York Yankees owner, business tycoon and Tampa Bay area philanthropist George Steinbrenner -- included the Stallions, the Chargers, the Yankees and the Clippers.

The Warriors "was not something that came up early on," principal Brenda Grasso said today, but it emerged as she went from school to school talking with prospective students.

Administrators want to steer away from a Native American warrior, but remain open to most anything else, Grasso said. The school, which opens in August on Lutz Lake Fern Road, is soliciting students' ideas and artwork to flesh out the mascot's image.

The gold in the school colors is what's known as an athletic gold, more yellow, like the gold in the West Virginia Mountaineers' uniforms, and less what's sometimes known as a "Vegas gold," similar to Notre Dame's colors.

The school also has a Web site up -- http://steinbrenner.mysdhc.org/ -- though much work remains to be done getting ready for the fall. Grasso said the school will post more information about curriculum and athletics as it hires teachers and coaches.

Richard Danielson, Times Staff Writer

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