Nearly a year after voters approved a special local tax option to build a minor league baseball stadium, the team that will occupy the new facility will officially be named and a new logo will be unveiled Friday.

At the annual Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce Business Expo Friday at The Forum, the Rome Professional Baseball Club will become the Rome Braves, a Class A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves that plays in the South Atlantic League.

The ceremony, which will include the presentation of the team’s new logo, will be held at 7 p.m. at the Expo, which runs through Sunday.

“We’re excited about this special night,” Mike Dunn, the team’s general manager, said. “It’s been almost a year to the day of the vote (to build a new stadium) and we’re happy to give an identity to the team.”

The team, which has moved to Rome after ending a 13-year stay in Macon, opens the 2003 season April 3 in Savannah, then plays its inaugural game in Rome April 11 at 7 p.m. against Savannah.

For more information and the 2003 schedule, log on to www.romebraves.com