The Staten Island Yankees last year scrapped plans to rename themselves, but some of the attention-grabbing names being considered as a replacement are not off the table. NY1's Amanda Farinacci filed the following report.

The Staten Island Yankees have called the borough's north shore home for 16 years. But the Baby Bombers never have drawn the crowds, or the profits, ownership hoped for: 

"It's underperformed for a long time," said Will Smith, president of the Staten Island Yankees.

Attendance has steadily fallen since 2010 to a new low of around 2,300 fans a game last season. 

As it turns out, being linked to the New York Yankees, one of the most marketable teams in the world, has a cost. One problem: Mets fans here aren't keen on rooting for a Yankee farm team. 

So last year, the Staten Island team said it wanted a new name to have its own identity and boost ticket sales. 

"We want to build a brand that we believe is going to be impactful for the business, impactful for the community, a name that says, 'You can't forget about us,'" Smith said.

A naming contest drew five finalists, including the Pizza Rats and Rock Pigeons.

Some residents and elected officials complained that the choices didn't reflect well on the borough. 

The team tabled the contest, saying it could not get all the approvals done by this season.

Now, they're aiming for 2018, and the name Pizza Rats is again in the picture. 

"I don't believe we are going to start the process anew. I don't believe that we're going to revisit everything publicly," Smith said. "The five names we've announced, I think we'd like it to be one of those five names." 

Team officials acknowledge attendance issues existed well before construction began on the New York Wheel and the Empire Outlets. Still, they say the ongoing construction has taken a toll.

"It's just hard to operate between a couple construction zones, and we've had great fans come to us and say, 'I'm coming back, but I'm gonna wait till it's completed,'" Smith said. "And it's been really hard. Parking has been really difficult." 

Smith says he's encouraged by the opening of a parking lot at the site of the New York Wheel, and has a full schedule of programming planned at the ballpark for this summer. The season opener is June 19.