MYRTLE BEACH -- The home of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans will have a new name for the 2012 baseball season.
Naming rights for the 13-year-old stadium ran out at the end of the 2011 calendar year, according to the team's general manager, Scott Brown. The team is negotiating with potential sponsors to work out a new deal, he said.
"We've been in the process for a couple of months now," Brown said. "We're getting closer."
The ballpark opened under the name Coastal Federal Field in 1999. The name changed to BB&T Coastal Field, after BB&T acquired Coastal Federal Bank in 2008. BB&T chose not to renew the name sponsorship when the contract ran out, Brown said. "We talked to them and they decided to pass on it."
For now, the 5200-seat stadium will take the name Pelicans Ballpark until a new naming sponsor can be found. The team hopes to have a new corporate name sponsor before their first home game April 6th. "We're shooting for that," Brown said. "We'll see how negotiations go."
The Class A Pelicans are owned a group led by Chuck Greenberg, who bought the team in 2006. The Pelicans' Major League affiliation is with the Texas Rangers of the American League.
