OLD ORCHARD BEACH — The Old Orchard Beach Surge will be back at The Ballpark for another season.
The Town Council voted unanimously on Tuesday night to approve a 2018 contract with the professional baseball team, which is part of the Empire Baseball League.
The Old Orchard Beach Surge was founded in 2015 and has made the The Ballpark, a town-owned facility at 7 Ballpark Way, its home since its inception.
The Surge is scheduled to play 25 percent fewer games in 2018 than were scheduled in the the 2017 season, with 30 games scheduled instead of 40, according to town officials. Though there are fewer games, the proposed agreements increases the per game charge by 9 percent.
Under the terms of the agreement, the team will pay an $18,000 user fee for The Ballpark.
The agreement states that the town will pay The Surge 20 percent of net profits from food and non-alcoholic beverage concession sales during Surge games.
Ballpark Commission Vice-Chairwoman Robin Dayton thanked the town for its support and for its approval of the contract, and acknowledged the work done by Ballpark Operations Manager Guy Fontaine and Town Manager Larry Mead.
“It was a very rigorous process, and I just want to make sure that you know we really do appreciate your continued support of The Ballpark and The Surge,” she said.
Officials from The Old Orchard Beach Surge posted on Facebook the team was excited to play another year in Old Orchard Beach.
“We simply love baseball, and wouldn’t want to play baseball anywhere else than OOB,” stated the post. “We are overwhelmed by the amount of support we received! Surge are back and ready to keep growing and improving as an organization!”
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.
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