The Myrtle Beach Pelicans (High A; Carolina League) have secured a three-year lease extension for TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark, and will now plan future facility upgrades.
The Pelicans played 2018 under the final season of a 20-year lease, but an extension for 2019 and beyond had been expected. As was noted here last month, the Pelicans had been working to secure a three-year lease extension that would serve as something of a stepping stone. During the three-year period, the Pelicans and local officials would map out future TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans ballpark upgrades and include those plans in an eventual longer-term lease agreement.
That plan is now moving forward, as the Myrtle Beach City Council has approved the three-year lease extension on a required second reading. The Pelicans will now work with the city and Horry County–the two entities have ownership shares in the ballpark–to find an architectural firm to map out future plans for the ballpark. More from the Myrtle Beach Sun News:
The parties intend to use the three years to create another long-term lease. An architectural firm is being hired to help develop a modernization plan for the stadium, and the parties will then decide what changes will be made and who will pay for them.
“We are pleased with the three-year extension and look forward to working collaboratively with the city to study potential ballpark improvements,” [Pelicans managing partner Chuck] Greenberg said Wednesday. “We all want to assure that the ballpark is as prepared to serve our community and the Cubs as effectively during the next 20 years as it has during the past 20 years.”
The city owns 70 percent of the stadium and the county owns 30 percent, and they own the property that contains the stadium in the same percentage, according to Myrtle Beach city spokesperson Mark Kruea. Horry County spokesperson Kelly Moore said the county defers to Myrtle Beach’s agreement and no action is required by Horry County Council to extend the lease.
The Pelicans’ initial arrival in Myrtle Beach coincided with the ballpark’s opening in 1999.
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