ROME, Ga. — Atlanta’s minor league affiliate in Rome, Georgia, will be dropping its Braves nickname.
The High-A South Atlantic League team, the third rung in Atlanta’s minor league system, has been a Braves’ affiliate since 2003.
The team has no plans to change its relationship with the Braves, but it will join other minor league teams that have rebranded to their unique nicknames for marketing purposes.
For instance, Atlanta’s Triple-A team in Gwinnett switched from Braves to Stripers before the 2018 season. Rome’s change will leave the Double-A Mississippi Braves as the only team among the top four affiliates still carrying the parent club’s nickname.
A year ago, Rome ranked last in the 12-team Sally League in attendance, averaging just over 1,400. A name-the-team contest will help pick the new moniker for the 2024 season.
“After twenty proud years as the Rome Braves, the time has come to usher in a new era,” the team said in a social media statement. “Our mission is to give the Rome community a brand as unique and special as the area itself is. For Braves fans, our long-standing affiliation with the Atlanta Braves will continue for years to come, however we want to create an identity that fans across the region can proudly claim and call their own.”
Rome is about 60 miles northwest of the Braves’ Truist Park home.