![\"RailRiders'](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GLJ-.jpg\")
RailRiders\u2019 George Lombard Jr. celebrates after hitting a leadoff home run during a RailRiders game on Friday, July 17, 2026. (JASON ARDAN \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\nScranton\/Wilkes-Barre\u2019s Triple-A baseball franchise will be going by a new name in 2027.<\/p>\n
Team officials announced Tuesday that the RailRiders moniker the team went by for the past 13 years will be replaced by a new name and look that will be in place before the New York Yankees\u2019 top affiliate opens next season March 26 at Worcester. The first home game for the 2027 season and the new-look local nine is slated for April 6 against rival Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n
RailRiders\u2019 George Lombard Jr. celebrates after hitting a leadoff home run during a RailRiders game on Friday, July 17, 2026. (JASON ARDAN \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n
RailRiders Director of Communications Adam Marco confirmed the new name has already been selected by the team and vetted by Major League Baseball, and that it will be unveiled during an event at PNC Field planned for early November.<\/p>\n
The latest marks the third major rebrand for a franchise entering the homestretch of its 38th season in the area. After the Philadelphia Phillies moved their Triple-A affiliate to Ottawa and the storied Yankees moved in after the 2006 season, the original Red Barons became the Scranton\/Wilkes-Barre Yankees for the next six seasons.<\/p>\n
To celebrate the dawn of a new era of baseball at PNC Field following a season-long renovation of the ballpark throughout 2012, team officials held a \u201cName the Team\u201d contest where area fans participated in an online vote that included a handful of proposed names. The RailRiders won, outdistancing other suggestions like the Porcupines, Black Diamond Bears and Trolley Frogs.<\/p>\n
According to a statement released by team officials, the new name will \u201ccelebrate the region\u2019s beauty, heritage, and outdoor legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
First-year President\/General Manager Shawn Reilly said the name switch will be noticeable throughout PNC Field in 2027, from the infield to the concession areas. The uniforms will be redesigned and feature a new color scheme. Some of the stadium amenities specifically branded to the RailRiders \u2014 for example, the team store which is currently called the \u201cSWB Station\u201d \u2014 could be changed to reflect the new team\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n
Diamond Baseball Holdings, the ownership and management group that owns the RailRiders, has orchestrated several rebrands in recent years. Reilly said this a \u201cperfect\u201d moment to \u201creengage the community\u201d as the team heads into the final six weeks of the regular season.<\/p>\n
The RailRiders also have seen a fan resurgence at the ballpark this summer, with a new video board, improved sound system and refocus on fan experience contributing to a nearly 30% increase in attendance over 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a new era of baseball here at PNC Field,\u201d Reilly said. \u201cDBH and the staff here agree that this is a great time to (rebrand), to capture the excitement of the new experience here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scranton\/Wilkes-Barre\u2019s Triple-A baseball franchise will be going by a new name in 2027. Team officials announced Tuesday that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263653,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,803,139,28,178,180,179,181,2685],"class_list":["post-263652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-luzerne-county","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-top-stories-stt","tag-wilkes-barre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}