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Hickory ballpark upgrades on tap

Hickory CrawdadsUpgrades to LP Frans Stadium, home of the Hickory Crawdads (Low Class A; Sally League), are on tap as the city works to keep the team with $1.5 million in new features.

The team’s lease runs through 2022, but the team can opt out of it in 2018. The Crawdads are owned by Don Beaver, Luther Beaver and Charles Young.

The improvements include the expansion of a ballpark bar, improved lighting and more. From the Hickory Record:

The Hickory City Council approved $391,000 on Nov. 19 for stadium improvements. The city already had $1.1 million appropriated in this year’s budget. That money was slated to replace stadium seating, upgrade field lights to professional standards, improve dugouts and renovate skyboxes.

Wood said the projects will move quickly, in order to be ready for Opening Day, or at least the South Atlantic League’s All-Star Game on June 17. The Crawdads play 70 home games a year.

Hickory proper has a population of only 40,000 or so, but the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton “Unifour” MSA has a population of approximately 345,000.

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