(March 14, 2019) — Some of the York Revolution’s biggest fans are putting their money where their team pride is.
Revolution President Eric Menzer today announced the 13-year-old professional baseball team has welcomed a number of additional local investors to its financial roster, enabling the Atlantic League team to fund many of the enhancements announced in the past year.
Corporate investors Kinsley Companies and Stewart Companies have joined York Container executive Julian Tolbert and his wife, Jolene; Corvus LLC founder Loren Kroh; retired York County Community Foundation President and banker William Hartman; Shipley Energy Group President Matt Sommer and his wife, Rebecca Sanstead; Mike Summers of Summers Financial Planning and Investments and his wife, Jacquelyn; and Dan Waltersdorff, chairman of Barton Associates, in investing in the minor league team.
They join Baseball Hall of Famer and former York White Rose Brooks Robinson and Shipley Energy Group Chairman Bill Shipley, who remains the team’s largest investor.
For Shipley, the new investors represent growth in not just capital but also in synergy.
“A business like the Revolution depends on its connection to the community,” Shipley said. “When that business’s ownership is deeply connected to the community, both benefit. These new investors really enhance the transformation from the ‘outside’ owners who founded the team to deep and broad community ownership.”
“This product has done nothing but grow and evolve over the years while constantly contributing to the York community and economy,” said Waltersdorff, a PeoplesBank Park skybox owner whose company worked on the original design of the ballpark’s mechanical and electrical systems. “Given the enhancements they have planned to stay competitive and the collective experience and success of the other investors, this was an easy and sound decision.”
Among those enhancements are the previously announced 1741 Club presented by UPMC and the Monarch and Solomon Suites, all of which will open at the start of the 2019 Revolution season.
The 1741 Club fills the space previously occupied by the multi-purpose White Rose Hall and two adjoining rental suites and offers members complete flexibility in entertaining during the Revolution’s 70 home games. The club features modern, restaurant-like décor, upgraded audio-visual elements, and all-you-can-eat enhanced menu offerings and all-you-can-drink beer and house wines. More than 50 companies have already purchased memberships in the still-under-construction club.
The Monarch and Solomon Suites, named in honor of York’s Negro League team and an MLB Hall of Fame member of that team, respectively, fill what had been five skyboxes on the end of the ballpark’s first base side. Their modern design and state-of-the-art amenities have already begun drawing bookings from groups and corporate planners seeking a unique hospitality venue that features flexible layouts, full audio and video capabilities, and premium on-site catering.
“The management team’s vision and focus on fan and client expectations have resulted in a forward-thinking, long-range plan and a clear sense of how to achieve very data- and customer-driven goals,” Tolbert said. “We were impressed by the work that went into identifying and planning these enhancements and the care the team puts into everything offered at the ballpark.”
Menzer called the commitment by the team’s newest investors a testament to the community and economic drivers that began building the downtown York ballpark in 2006.
“Thirteen years ago, area businesses and investors saw this team and this building as a critical component of York’s revitalization,” said Menzer, who served as York’s director of economic development when the ballpark was first proposed. “Today, another group of avid supporters of the community have demonstrated their belief in the future of our product and the community it supports and relies on. They are helping to make that future happen.”
For more information on the 1741 Club presented by UPMC, visit www.1741Club.com.