At today’s city council meeting, Pelicans Baseball owner Chuck Greenberg told members that he would kick in $100,000.00 per year for ten years, if that would save the Pelicans Baseball lease agreement.
The shortfall projected by the city was $100,000.00 per year over the next ten years. Horry County Council already voted to gift their 30% ownership in the stadium for $8.25 million.
Chuck Greenberg saved the Pelicans lease today, as someone close to City Hall informed MyrtleBeachSC News that the vote was expected to be 4 against and 3 for extending the lease before Chuck Greenberg’s offer was made.
Myrtle Beach will take full responsibility for the stadium under the new lease agreement. Additionally, city council passed an ordinance permitting City Manager Fox Simons to discuss the purchase of Horry County’s 30% stake in the baseball stadium. Simons estimates the value of the county’s share of the land at approximately $2 million.
Horry County agrees to pay the city $8.25 million to get out of what Horry County Council believes is a losing, long term proposition.
About Chuck Greenberg
Charles M. Chuck Greenberg, born in 1961, is an American sports lawyer, the chair and creator of the Greenberg Sports Group, and the proprietor of three minor league baseball clubs. He was the head partner of Rangers Baseball Express, LLC, which successfully acquired the Texas Rangers Major League Baseball team from Tom Hicks and Hicks Sports Group on August 5, 2010, after obtaining court approval. Greenberg then held the roles of Managing Partner and CEO of the Rangers from 2010 to 2011.
Greenberg, born into a Jewish family in Englewood, New Jersey, relocated to Pittsburgh before turning one. He is the son of David and Barbara Greenberg and one of three siblings. Greenberg completed his high school education at Upper St. Clair High School in Pittsburgh in 1978, then pursued studies at Tufts University in Massachusetts.
During his time at Tufts, Greenberg focused on political science and completed his bachelor’s degree with the highest honors in 1982. Following this achievement, he pursued further education at the University of Michigan Law School, earning his juris doctor degree in 1985.
Chuck Greenberg assumed the role of president and managing partner of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in June 2006 following the acquisition of the Minor League Baseball team by himself and a consortium of investors.
He led efforts to upgrade TicketReturn.Com Field in Myrtle Beach, transforming it into one of the most fan-friendly venues in Minor League Baseball.
Together with his investor group, Greenberg invested $2.5 million in enhancing the Pelicans’ ballpark. This included the installation of a cutting-edge, 550-square-foot (51 m2) video board, the introduction of a new Outfield Reserved Bleacher Seating section, and the establishment of Pelican’s Beach, known as the only baseball-front beach in America.
As part of the stadium’s revamp, the franchise relocated the visitor’s bullpen from beyond left field to adjacent to a dugout, replacing it with 500-seat bleachers. The state-of-the-art video board, meeting Major League standards, stands as the largest in the Carolina League and ranks among the biggest in all of Minor League Baseball.
The unique outfield seating arrangement sets the Pelicans apart within the Carolina League. The team achieved several attendance records, including setting the all-time franchise attendance record in 2008 and the average attendance record in 2009, both of which were subsequently surpassed in 2014 and again in 2015.
In December 2015, the Pelicans were honored with Baseball America’s Bob Freitas Award for being the top Class A-Advanced franchise in Minor League Baseball.
Local News Via - MyrtleBeachSC.com
