Myrtle Beach leaders working on new lease for Pelicans Ballpark

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — As the Myrtle Beach Pelicans cap off another year of minor league baseball this weekend, their 25th year on the Grand Strand, officials say they are working out a deal that would keep the team in the city.

“The city and the team are currently working on a new lease that accounts for the modifications and renovations required under the new standard,” Assistant City Manager Brian Tucker told News13 on Tuesday.

Pelicans Ballpark, located on 21st Ave. North, opened in April 1999. It is jointly owned by the city and Horry County and is in need of millions of dollars worth of repairs to bring it into compliance with new standards imposed by Major League Baseball .

Last September, as officials were working on a one-year extension of the lease with the Pelicans, Tucker said there were three options: don’t do anything and don’t have baseball, renovate or build something new.

At the time, Tucker said most of the needs were “back of house,” meaning things like new training rooms, new batting cages, new commissaries and kitchens.

The city owns 70% of the stadium and is responsible for its maintenance. Horry County owns the remaining 30%. The stadium, which cost 12 million to build, seats 5,200 people and has a standing-room-only capacity of 6,600.

The Pelicans, the single-A Carolina League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, play a 132-game season that runs from April into September.

The team’s home season ends Sunday against the Down East Wood Ducks, the Texas Rangers single-A affiliate. The Pelicans will close out the regular season on Sept. 8 in North Carolina, against the Texas-Ranger-affiliated Fayetteville Woodpeckers.

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Dennis Bright is the Digital Executive Producer at News13 . He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook , X, formerly Twitter , and read more of his work here .

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Jackie LiBrizzi is a multimedia journalist at News13. Jackie is originally from Hamilton, New Jersey, and was raised in Piedmont, South Carolina. Jackie joined the News13 team in June 2023 after she graduated as a student-athlete from the University of South Carolina in May 2023. Follow Jackie on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook , or Instagram , and read more of her work he r e .

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