The Springfield Sting begins its first season on Saturday. The minor league ABA team is the first pro basketball club in Springfield since the Armor — an NBA Development League team — left the city in early 2014.

The team will play its home games at the Basketball Hall of Fame. Team owner Zach Baru said he thinks his team will succeed in a city where others have failed.

“Can I give you a guarantee of how long this team is going to be here? I wish I could,” he said. “But…this is not a short term. This is a long-term business plan.”

Click the audio player above to hear New England Public Radio’s Susan Kaplan interview Baru.