Myrtle Beach Pelicans ‘hit’ new first-day ticket sales record

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - The sound of bats cracking and the smell of hot dogs cooking will soon fill TicketReturn.com field again after being away for a year.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans’ single-game tickets went on sale Tuesday, and the team set a new record for first-day sales.

“We love coming to the games,” Dave Evans said just after he bought some tickets. “Last year was really tough, but this year I hope they start opening up the ballpark.”

Evans and his wife, Linda, moved to Myrtle Beach 15 years ago and have enjoyed going to countless Pelicans games.

It’s been more than a year since they’ve been able to see one because last season was lost to the pandemic, but it’s been even longer for their son and grandchildren.

“They’ve been living in Dubai for the past three years,” Evans said. “They’re so excited. They haven’t seen a baseball game in a long time. We used to go to baseball games all the time.”

When their son started planning a trip home from Dubai this July, Evans said the first thing he asked was if they could catch a game.

The Evans didn’t wait too long to buy a block of tickets.

They’ll have quite a bit of space to enjoy the game with because the Pelicans are blocking off all the seats surrounding groups to allow for social distancing.

Despite only opening to 50% capacity, the Pelicans already set a franchise record for first-day ticket sales this year.

“To see it come to fruition and see those ticket sales numbers spike yesterday is really enthusiastic and pumps us up for May 11th our opener,” assistant general manager Kristin Call said.

The ticket sales aren’t the only exciting thing happening for the organization.

Major League Baseball reorganized its minor leagues over the offseason, so the Pelicans find themselves with quite a few new teams to face.

“For the first time in franchise history, we’re now in a league with other teams in South Carolina,” Call said. “We have the ability and opportunity to play teams like Charleston, Columbia and North Augusta to create some of those in-state rivalries if you will.”

The Evans are hoping some of that new competition means they’ll catch a good game while they spend some much-needed quality time with their son.

“We’re doing Taco Tuesday,” Evans said. “We always try to go when they have the deals going on.”