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Myrtle Beach city leaders look poised to administratively extend the lease which allows the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, a single A Minor League Baseball Chicago Cubs affiliate, to continue playing in the city.

The future of the Pelicans looked murky a month ago as the deadline to complete MLB-mandated stadium improvements neared, but the league looks like it will allow teams to compete in existing facilities through the 2025 season without renovations being done beforehand.

At the Oct. 8 Myrtle Beach City Council meeting, council voted to extend the Pelicans Ballpark lease with the Pelicans one more year: the fourth one-year extension of the lease, which is between the city, which owns 70% of the stadium; Horry County, which owns 30%; and the Pelicans, which rents the stadium.

鈥淭here are no additional changes to the contract whatsoever,鈥� City Manager Fox Simons said.

Also on the agenda was $1.3 million for structural improvements to the stadium. These repairs are not related to MLB-mandated upgrades and are 鈥渘eeded repairs to allow people into the stadium,鈥� Simons said.

According to city spokesperson Meredith Denari, the Pelicans Ballpark would need to have anywhere from $15 million to $80 million invested into it in order to meet the new MLB requirements for the Professional Development League, the name of MLB鈥檚 new minor league structure. How extensive the renovations will be and how that cost will be split is at the heart of the negotiations between the Pelicans, Myrtle Beach and Horry County.

In the meantime, the city will 鈥渃ontinue to work diligently with the team owner to come to a more long-term arrangement,鈥� Myrtle Beach mayor Brenda Bethune said.

The ordinance to extend the lease was approved on first reading and would need to be approved by city council a second time to become official.