Jacksonville City Council gives thumbs up to Jumbo Shrimp sale

Jacksonville’s Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team the Jumbo Shrimp is going to be sold and the City Council signed off on a resolution Tuesday confirming it supports the transaction.

Jumbo Shrimp owner Ken Babby decided to sell the team after he advanced to CEO of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. Babby announced Tuesday before the council meeting that the buyer of the Jumbo Shrimp was Prospector Baseball Group. There was no disclosed price, but Prospector is owned by Ben Boyer, a technology entrepreneur, and John Abbamondi, an executive with extensive experience in professional sports.

The City Council unanimously approved the resolution supporting the sale of the Jumbo Shrimp, the MiLB AAA farm club for the Miami Marlins, with little discussion.

Council member Nick Howland said there was no reason for the city to impede the transaction.

“I don’t want to hold up the deal and I think this is good for our city,” Howland said.

The key element the city is concerned with is the lease deal with the franchise for the use of the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. That stadium is known as VyStar Ballpark, which was contracted for the name by Jacksonville-based VyStar Credit Union.

The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp resolution before the Council stated, “The team has entered into an agreement whereby, upon closing, a buyer will acquire all equity of the Jacksonville Club (Jumbo Shrimp). The transaction is structured as a sale of equity interests; therefore, there is no direct assignment of the agreement, and the Jacksonville Club will remain a party to the agreement under its current name.”

Babby in a news release earlier Tuesday called the sale “bittersweet.”

In a joint statement, Abbamondi and Boyer said they were thrilled about the transaction.

“We are grateful to Ken Babby and his partners for their leadership and honored to have the opportunity to build upon their success. We believe in providing an exceptional, accessible game day experience at VyStar Ballpark, and we are equally excited for the Jumbo Shrimp to be a catalyst for the future growth of Downtown Jacksonville,” the joint statement said.

Babby has advanced quickly in the baseball world. He is also owner of the Akron RubberDucks in Ohio, a AA franchise in the MiLB affiliated with the MLB’s Cleveland Guardians. The RubberDucks franchise is also part of Prospector’s acquisition.

Babby shifted to CEO of the Rays and is now heavily involved in discussions for hammering out a stadium deal and location for the team to play on the Gulf Coast.

Babby bought the Jacksonville franchise from previous owner Peter Bragan Jr. in 2015 when the team was named the Jacksonville Suns, a moniker that was steady for decades. Babby changed the name to Jumbo Shrimp in November 2016.