Lancaster Stormers organization to be sold [update] | Lancaster Barnstormers

The Lancaster Stormers will begin their 22nd season under new ownership. The team has been sold to Prospector Baseball Group.

The Stormers, who have been owned by four local businessmen since October 2013, made the announcement at Penn Medicine Park on Thursday morning.

This is the first acquisition for PBG, which plans to purchase more teams in the near future. The new company is run by co-founders John Abbamondi, a sports executive, and Ben Boyer, a tech entrepreneur.

The Stormers are their starting point.

“This is a special asset in a really remarkable place,” Abbamondi said at a news conference that included local media and sponsors. “We wouldn’t be here otherwise. We believe this is a growing, vibrant community. We’re really looking forward to the journey with all of you.”

Boyer said PBG could own as many as 15 baseball teams, both independent and affiliated, in the coming years. Some, Boyer said, will be within driving distance of Lancaster.

Neither of the new owners has local ties. Abbamondi lives in Brooklyn and Boyer resides in Park City, Utah. Boyer said the two have been friends for “a couple of decades” since meeting in business school.

Abbamondi will focus on baseball operations and Boyer on technology. Boyer said owning multiple teams is a way to cut costs and reduce inefficiencies.

General manager Mike Reynolds and field manager Ross Peeples are expected to stay in their roles. Boyer said there will be no reduction to the team’s front office staff.

PBG intends to focus solely on baseball and no other sports or industries.

“We’re both big baseball fans,” Boyer said. “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 Stormers began play as the Barnstormers in 2005. Bob Zuckerman, Steve Zuckerman, Ian Ruzow and Rob Liss were invested in the team from the beginning and became sole owners 12 years ago. The Stormers were facing financial challenges at the time.

“Things were not going so well back then,” Bob Zuckerman said. “The team was on the verge of closing down. We just could not see that happening.”

When Reynolds was hired as GM nine years ago, he met with community leaders as a way to establish a connection in his new home. One person told Reynolds the 12 acres of stadium land would be better used for condominiums than baseball.

“We needed the belief of the community again,” Reynolds said. “We needed them to understand what a team like this could be as an asset to the city, the county and central PA.”

Penn Medicine Park hosts 63 regular-season baseball games each summer and holds events of some kind for more than 300 days each year.

It’s unclear how often Abbamondi and Boyer will be on site. Abbamondi said he plans to allow Reynolds space to operate the Stormers like he has since taking over as GM.

“We appreciate that these are local community assets and they should not be controlled from an office in New York,” Boyer said. “At the same time, by having a number of teams together, you can have some real efficiencies.”

The Stormers won three Atlantic League championships, and Penn Medicine Park was named the MLB Partner League Ballpark of the Year three times under the previous ownership group.

The Stormers will return to the field in 175 days. They are the longest-running franchise in the Atlantic League.

Bob Zuckerman said selling the team was “bittersweet.”

“It’s the right time,” Zuckerman said. “We feel like it’s going to the right people.”

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