Moosic, Lackawanna County - The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees will be playing the name game this coming season.

It was announced Wednesday that for this season, the team's nickname will be the Empire State Yankees.

A press conference on the plan was held in Rochester, New York. The media received a press release on the change in the afternoon but members of the Lackawanna County Multi-Purpose Stadium Authority said they were never notified.

Chairman James Timlin said he was completely surprised and said the move lacked professional courtesy.

It didn't take long to find baseball fans who had opinions on the idea.

"I think they may not be coming back," Joe Barrett of Scranton said. "Why would you change the name? It doesn't make any sense? They are the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees and that's the way it should stay even if they're on the road."

This season, while PNC Field in Moosic is expected to undergo renovations, the team will play most of its games at varying places in New York, so officials thought from a marketing perspective, the move would make sense.

"I'd rather it be a local name, to be localized and have a better name," Jimmy Tigue of Scranton said.

Commissioner Jim Wansacz says while he was not aware of the move, commissioners are still trying to finalize the sale of the franchise.

"The time is ticking down. We've been in serious negotiations for the last month and hopefully we're going to known within the next month if baseball will be here in Lackawanna County or not be here in Lackawanna County."

If the franchise is sold, Wansacz says the team will stay for at least 30 years. He says the team would get a new name anyway so he doesn't think this one-year nickname is a big issue.

"This whole area will have a say in what the new nickname would be and it would be an exciting new step into the future," Wansacz said.