Southeast : Riptide Baseball Franchise Makes Deal to Stay in Town

The Long Beach Riptide, a minor league baseball franchise that overcame an ownership skirmish to win a league championship last season, has secured a deal to keep the team in town.

Members of the city’s Recreation Commission approved a one-year contract Thursday that allows the team to lease Blair Field and to pay off a $53,000 debt to the city incurred last season.

Beginning with the season opener in mid-May, the franchise will pay the city $700 per game to use the diamond.

The cost last year was about $1,200 per game, but that included services such as more frequent field maintenance, a Parks and Recreation contract manager said. The team’s owners agreed to pay off any debt the concessions do not cover by the end of the season.