Rumble Ponies to operate under new owner, extended stadium lease and $3.1 million upgrades

Binghamton's professional baseball team has new ownership, and its stadium will be injected with additional publicly financed upgrades.

The new owner is New York City-based financial specialist David Sobotka. He succeeds John Hughes, whose purchase of the Binghamton Mets was finalized in December 2015.

That transition, as well as disclosure that millions more dollars will be invested in Mirabito Stadium and that a 23-year lease extension for that city-owned venue has been secured, were revealed in a media conference conducted jointly Monday by elected officials and baseball franchise personnel.

The lease agreement between the new ownership group and the city is separate from the Professional Development License granted the team by MLB, recently installed as the affiliation agreement and what ties the Double-A team to the New York Mets.

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According to Yale University, Sobotka has spent a 40-plus year career in finance. His most recent role was as partner in the $18 billion hedge fund Capula Investments. He was head of Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and previously ran commodity trading operations at a number of financial and private firms.

He is a director on the board of BWC Terminals, a portfolio company of the JP Morgan Infrastructure Fund, and treasurer of the board of DREAM, an organization serving 2,500 youth in the communities of East Harlem, the South Bronx and Newark through charter schools and out-of-school programming.

During Hughes' ownership, the franchise that had for 25 years gone by Binghamton Mets changed to Rumble Ponies. That switch was disclosed November 2016.

The price of the transaction between Southpaw Resources LLC, led by Sobotka, and Hughes' Evans Street Baseball was not disclosed.

Binghamton’s baseball franchise states that $3.1 million has been allocated to bring Mirabito Stadium into compliance with Major League Baseball’s new Facility Standards. Monday’s release from the franchise states: “In partnership with Mayor David, Senator Fred Akshar and Mr. Hughes, over $9 million dollars has been invested into the ballpark to replace seats, install new video scoreboards, build hospitality areas to draw fans to the stadium, and improve player amenities.”

The additional $3.1 million means the state and city will have provided more than $10 million in public funding for the stadium since 2014.

“Signing a long-term lease is the final piece in securing baseball in Binghamton for a generation and beyond,” said Binghamton Mayor Richard David. “Today’s announcement means the rising stars of Major League Baseball will continue to thrill fans and families at Mirabito Stadium for decades.”

The Binghamton Mets debuted at what was then Binghamton Municipal Stadium in April 1992.

“We are beyond thrilled to join the Rumble Ponies and Mets family and be part of the bright future of professional baseball in Binghamton for many years to come,” Sobotka said. “We will work tirelessly to keep earning the support of the entire Binghamton and Southern Tier communities while continuing to bring an exceptional baseball experience to fans and players alike.”

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Binghamton Rumble Ponies stadium lease extended under new owner