Myrtle Beach eyes boardwalk record

MYRTLE BEACH — Mayor John Rhodes wants the city to have the longest boardwalk in the world.

Rhodes spoke to representatives from several groups involved in the creation and use of the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk at a recent meeting to discuss the project’s development and future.

He noted that before Superstorm Sandy, Atlantic City “had the longest boardwalk in the world. It was 4.5 miles.”

Rhodes said it’s his goal to extend the Myrtle Beach boardwalk to 4.6 miles.

“It’s going to take $20 million to do it. So we have to find someone, even if it’s through naming rights, to put up the 20 million. It’s not far-fetched. They do it at stadiums and football fields,” he said, adding that the city is looking for sponsors to help fund the boardwalk’s extension.

Rhodes said he is looking at multiple ways to secure the money needed for the extension but added that the city has put together a small presentation that they plan to show to companies or organizations that could potentially sponsor either the entire boardwalk or a portion. “That’s how things get paid for nowadays without taxation,” Rhodes told The Sun News.

The boardwalk stretches 1.2 miles from First Avenue North to 14th Avenue North. The city entered a deal with Chip Smith, owner of Banditos Restaurant and Cantina, to extend the boardwalk by about 425 feet north to include the restaurant. The extension, expected to be complete by March 2013, would take the boardwalk to 15th Avenue North, said Mike Wooten of DDC Engineers and designer of the boardwalk.

Wooten said that to reach 4.6 miles the boardwalk would extend two miles south to Springmaid Pier and another mile north.