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Horry County council approves lease measures and funding options to keep Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Summary
After a lengthy public hearing and staff presentations on stadium capital needs, Horry County council approved Ordinance 49-2025 and related measures that allow the county to execute a lease and advance options for funding Pelican Stadium improvements, including a possible $6,000,000 county contribution and property conveyance to the City of Myrtle Beach.
Horry County council on May 20 approved a package of actions to permit a new lease and to pursue funding options intended to keep the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in the community.
Barry Spivey, a county staff representative, told the council the county and city had negotiated multiple lease drafts and funding scenarios dating to 2023 and 2024 and that staff had discussed a $6,000,000 county contribution as one option to allow the city and team to proceed. "We have had multiple meetings during this process," Spivey said, summarizing recent financial reviews and describing a dual-track approach that would either include the county in the lease or allow the city and team to move forward directly.
The City of Myrtle Beach and Pelicans representatives emphasized the team's community role. The mayor (Brenda) asked council to approve third reading without making passage contingent on an intergovernmental agreement (IGA), arguing that tying the lease to the IGA could jeopardize jobs and charitable programs: "Losing the Pelicans due to the requirement of an IGA by county council that is tied to the Pelicans lease would be devastating to everyone in Horry County," she said, and asked nonprofits supported by the Pelicans to stand in the chamber.
County CFO Shannon provided fiscal context, saying the county subsidizes roughly "$5.10 of every ticket sold" and that, combined with city support and potential capital expenditures, the county currently projects an operating loss of "over $400,000 per year" in fiscal 2025; with capital costs included that loss could rise to "between 700 to 800,000 a year." Shannon’s figures framed council debate about long-term obligations and alternative revenue mechanisms.
Council members discussed an option staff described as a multi-county business park that could capture growth-generated tax increment to fund stadium infrastructure, and noted that Major League Baseball had identified $20,000,000 in PDL-required capital improvements and an approximately $15,700,000 SKA assessment — figures Spivey summarized as nearly $36,000,000 in work that could be phased over time.
After a brief executive session to discuss contractual negotiations, the council recorded unanimous voice votes to approve Ordinance 49-2025 (lease authorization), Ordinance 59-2025 (authority to negotiate and convey county interest in property), and Resolution R71-2025 (support for transfer of stadium ownership to the City of Myrtle Beach and support for the Pelicans). The council’s action allows the city and team to move forward under the terms discussed in chamber and preserves several of the alternative funding pathways staff described.
