The Gastonia Ghost Peppers have ceased operations after just two seasons, the team announced in late September, leaving the city's $28.8 million CaroMont Health Park without a professional baseball tenant for the second time in five years. Parent company Zawyer Sports & Entertainment told city officials the organization has faced and continues to face significant and sustained financial challenges that have made it impossible to continue operating on a viable basis.
That explanation came in a letter sent to Gastonia city officials on September 30, according to WSOC TV, with city leadership receiving the formal notice the same day the team made its withdrawal public. In a statement reported by WBTV, the Ghost Peppers said the decision was not made lightly and expressed gratitude to employees, players, partners, and community leaders. City records show the corporate entities ZGE, LLC and SYA Baseball, LLC served as the official leaseholders and operators at the ballpark, and the City of Gastonia confirmed it received formal notification under both LLC names.
The Ghost Peppers withdrew from the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an official MLB partner league, despite a strong year on the field. The team finished 71-55 and placed second in its division in 2026, yet ranked ninth out of ten Atlantic League clubs in home attendance, averaging just 1,241 fans per game across its 126-game season, according to Business North Carolina. The team's strong on-field performance contrasted with its low attendance.
A City Scrambling to Keep Baseball Alive
Gastonia Mayor Richard Franks said he had connected Zawyer Sports with a local organization two months before the shutdown to discuss operational assistance, and the city is now negotiating with that group to take over stadium operations without going through a lengthy formal request-for-proposals process, per the same account from WSOC TV. The mayor noted that a full RFP process would likely prevent the city from securing a replacement operator in time for the 2027 season. City officials have said they will work with Zawyer Sports and the Atlantic League to keep the stadium functioning for the community's future needs, though Zawyer has not released information about ticket refunds for scheduled events or future seasons.
Following Gastonia's withdrawal, the Atlantic League began searching for a 12th replacement franchise for its 2027 season while working with city leaders to keep professional baseball at the venue, according to World Baseball Network. The league has now lost two consecutive Gastonia franchise operators in three years, a run of instability that leaves the city without a minor league baseball team for the time being.
History Repeating at CaroMont Health Park
This is not the first time Gastonia has watched a baseball tenant walk away. The Gastonia Honey Hunters operated at the ballpark from 2021 through 2023 before the Atlantic League pulled the team's membership that year after the team had more than $1 million in debt. The Ghost Peppers took over from the Honey Hunters in 2024, and separate reporting from Business North Carolina put the Honey Hunters' accumulated debt at over $1 million. When Zawyer Sports became owner of the new Gastonia Baseball Club, CEO Andy Kaufmann publicly promised to satisfy the roughly seven-figure debt owed to local vendors, stadium contractors, and former staff members left behind after the Honey Hunters' eviction, the outlet reported.
A three-year legal dispute between the city and the former Honey Hunters ownership has also lingered over the franchise's entire run, centered on adjacent land containing a major stadium parking lot that fans have been unable to use during games, WSOC TV reported. The previous Honey Hunters owner still holds that property outside the stadium, and the dispute has persisted across the operational tenures of both failed franchises, an unresolved headache for anyone hoping to fill the seats next season.
Bigger Stakes for Downtown Gastonia
CaroMont Health Park opened in May 2021 as a 5,000-seat city-owned facility, amid Gastonia's downtown redevelopment efforts, according to Business North Carolina. The venue's artificial turf was designed to host concerts and other sports like soccer and lacrosse beyond baseball, giving the city some flexibility even without a tenant locked in. Gastonia has also pursued downtown redevelopment efforts.
Zawyer Sports has framed the exit as part of a broader shift in business direction, one that will see the company concentrate on arena-based sports and entertainment rather than independent baseball. The company, which also owns the AHL's Charlotte Checkers and several ECHL hockey teams, owns 15 minor league baseball, hockey, and basketball teams and launched two North Carolina women's basketball franchises in May 2026, according to Business North Carolina. For now, Zawyer says it will work with Gastonia officials and the Atlantic League to find a new team or operator for CaroMont Health Park, as reported by K104.7, leaving the city's taxpayer-funded ballpark once again searching for a tenant to call it home.
