An announcement was made Oct. 30 at PNC Park that Lancaster’s Atlantic League baseball team will begin their 22nd season under the new ownership of the Prospector Baseball Group.
The team has been around since 2005, and owned since October 2013 by four local business men, Bob Zuckerman, Steve Zuckerman, Ian Ruzow and Rob Liss, but has become the first acquisition for PBG.
PBG is a new company run by Co-founder John Abbamondi, who is a sports executive, and Co-founder Ben Boyer, who is a tech entrepreneur. Boyer shared that the group could eventually own as many as 15 baseball teams. The two new owners have no ties to Lancaster, Abbamondi lives in Brooklyn, NY, while Boyer resides in Park City, UT. The two have been friends since meeting each other in business school.
“This is a special asset in a really remarkable place, we wouldn’t be here otherwise,”said Abbamondi in a conference. “We believe this is a growing, vibrant community. We’re really looking forward to the journey with all of you.”
Abbamondi will focus on baseball operations, while Boyer will focus on technology. The two have shared that they plan to focus solely on baseball, and not on other sports.
Boyer confirmed their love of the sport by saying, “We’re both big baseball fans, minor league baseball offers something that’s just pure. It’s a form of entertainment that’s incredibly accessible. That’s something that’s important to us.”
The current general manager, Mike Reynolds, and field manager, Ross Peeples, are expected to stay in their roles.
Under the previous owners the Stormers have won three Atlantic League championships, while Penn Medicine Park was named the MLB Partner League Ballpark of the Year three times.
The Stormers are the longest-running franchise in the Atlantic League, and selling the franchise was said to be “bittersweet” by Bob Zuckerman “We feel like it’s going to the right people,” he added.
