So this year, we decided to head to Myrtle Beach to the Ripken Experience. We did the week long tournament and everyone made a vacation out of it. The fields are absolutely awesome. It's an experience I'm so glad my son got to experience and I got to coach at. Everything was immaculate. Very clean. The staff was phenomenal. Couldn't have been any more helpful. The onsite photography company, Glossy Finish, was on their game. They got action shots of my son that I could never get. So why only 3 stars??? Before the tournament, we had a coach's meeting. At the meeting, we have the head umpire go over everything and tell us how "approachable" the umpires are and that they're "AAA" umpires. Ok. Great. Now in my 25 years of coaching, I may have had 3 arguments with an umpire. My goal is to get these players ready for HS. We had 2 catchers with us. In game 2, our other catcher started. Wound up getting very labored in the heat. We switch catchers during the inning to get him some rest. He leads off when we get up. I notice when he gets to first, he's breathing EXTREMELY heavy. I ask for time and ask to speak to the umpires. The plate umpire responds "What's the issue?" I was like. The kid has heat exhaustion and his hyperventilating. Can we get a medic. He actually says... "You need to discuss that with your coach. " I responded, "Don't you work here? How would he know how to get a medic here??? Can we get someone here before this kid passes out?" The whole time, the field umpire could care less and didn't even take a step towards the poor kid to see what his condition was. Ultimately, he got medical attention, but these 2 guys, 1 of which we wound up having almost every game, were the most unapproachable human beings I've ever met. Even the other team commented to me, "What was that about?" I'm still confused. The rest of the week went fine, I knew what kind of person I was dealing with officiating wise and just went about our business. All in all, a great facility to play baseball. read more

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We did Cooperstown last year and compared both Ripken experiences to each other. This location at Myrtle Beach is by far our favorite travel ball tourney as there was so much to do! Our boy played in the beach blast baseball tournament during the week of 6/16 and this facility has it all. Plenty of baseball fields with turf and batting cages galore. The food options were all around decent with snacks and hot food to choose from. The price points were impressively economical as well. Be sure to pick up your souvenirs at the gift shop and don't miss Chik-fil-A pop up shop if hungry. The staff did amazing as they played great music at the fields and tactfully announced the walk up for each kid giving it a big ballpark feel. We saw turtles in the water basins as well. Plenty of parking and is close to a lot of food and entertainment in the area. They also have a live stream video link to allow folks who could not make it, a chance to watch live or go and save highlights later for an additional cost. You cannot bring a camera yourself to live stream fyi. The paid photo package includes a live photographer capturing some amazing photos of your athletes to digitally download. Be sure to bring sunscreen and bug spray. They allow coolers (no alcohol), chairs and umbrellas. They sell alcohol at the carts or food grille. It was hot and humid but well worth the experience and price point for the tournament was surprisingly less than Cooperstown which was a win! Take me out to the ballgame! Thanks Myrtle Beach Ripken Experience for an amazing week! PXF Arizona read more

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Should a grown man be cussing and talking crap to 14 year olds? Simple answer is no. Apparently to myrtle beach Ripken experience's "amazing group of umpires" it is quite hard to understand that. Things like "catch the damn ball" and asking pitchers if there is a problem because they looked at them wrong is a childish move from a home plate umpire. Then proceeding To call the rest of the game unfairly. A field ump shouldn't walk up to a player and ask "is it that hard to catch a fly ball." The umpires should not be telling parents to meet them in the parking lot then get protected by the director who let him go to the next game after doing all that. Myrtle beach Ripken experience seems to have no form of repercussions for anything umpire related. Other than this the tournament was pretty great. read more

I have been to a couple Ripken Experience locations. This one has to be the worst. The fields are nice but you have to walk so far to get from entrance to whichever field you're playing. The store they have there had no ac and they had installed a unit but in Myrtle Beach that doesn't do the job. You expect to see nice palms and a nice view but not a great view. We had two days where it rained and we kept getting pushed back but we ended up playing at 12am one night and to make things worse the guy in the box always says start time and I guess he only told coaches at this game. We had won and the other team started complaining about start time and the coaches already knew it was over but since the guy in the box made the mistake of not announcing it he had to call higher ups. So it was 2 something in the morning and we had to wait there and see what's going to happen. The empires had already left because the game was over. So I mentioned to the manager or whatever he is because his attitude was super poor. Why don't you check your live streaming that people pay for it should be on there and he like that was turned off since 12am. The reason for that camera is to stream the game for people to pay if they want to watch it. Something nasty was there were roaches on the playing field. Then a girl from the other team shows him a video that she recorded on her iPhone and he called the empires back and made us continue to play. Anybody can adjust the time on a iPhone and make it seem it was at that time but that what the manager believed was right. Then the other team tied us and we had to play extra with new rules. We ended up winning but had to play the championship at 9am. So what's the point of paying so much money if you're just going to break rules and go of what the losing team saying not right at all. read more

Enjoyed a tournament at the Ripken Experience - Myrtle Beach, SC recently. The grounds, fields and facilities were very clean. The photography experience was positive. The gift shop was fine but not a lot of options. They did have T-shirts specific to the tournament we were attending which offered a neat keepsake. The food options were limited but there were snack bars available. The Ripken Experience complex is located next to a helicopter excursion business that had helicopters flying almost non stop near the fields during our tournament. Distracting to the games and seems like an accident waiting to happen. Overall it was a good experience. read more

The Ripken Experience - The park is next to a helicopter excursion business that had helicopters flying near the fields almost nonstop during our tournament. - Baseball Fields Near Me - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Place was amazing and we stayed at an amazing condo close by! Would love to stay there again. a great commute, clean, outdoor pool and a great host. highly recommended! https://www.easypeasyrentals.com/en/close-to-beach-ripken-golf read more

Fields of Dreams. Field Names like Ebbets, Griffith, Crosley and Polo Grounds measuring as their namesakes did way back when. This is the place where dreams can come true. The experience is great. Baseball reigns "The Ripken Way."We were here for a JUCO Spring Training tournament. Fun. And a big plus for Myrtle Beach. read more

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Our experience at the Myrtle Beach Ripken complex was amazing. The complex was clean and well organized. The staff was kind and professional at all times. They provided shuttles for the elderly to each field as needed. The food variety was fresh and adequate for ballpark menus. Even the gift shop was appropriately priced. Our team and families enjoyed our week at the Ripken experience. read more

If you play at Ripken, it's great. My only knock is some fields are very far from bathrooms. If you play at grand view or whatever, they seem to be lesser/multi-purpose fields with some strange shapes to accommodate soccer, etc. the Ripken fields are neat replicas of former stadiums (smaller of course) read more

Great baseball facility with many nice looking turf fields. Close to all the hotels and attractions.

Was here for a travel ball tournament. Got injured, arm bleeding. Medical staff provided me with a Clorox wipe. Thanks!

Major disappointment. "Replica fields" are from the early 1900s NOT fields of today or even yesterday. They are poorly maintained and have constant air traffic flying over. I could go on and on , but it's beat said to save you money for a true tournament experience. Any rec. dept close by could provide yeh at you get here. read more

A great place for teams from all over the country to play quality and professionally Tournaments. The staff is helpful, courteous, friendly and promote playing baseball "The Ripken Way". I highly recommend this experience for any team looking to sharpen up for their upcoming season. read more

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Fields are nice.. Bathrooms are a mess.. Food stands looked filthy...Came to Mrytle Beach for this experience and was very disappointed by this facility... Save your teams travel money and book elsewhere cause it definitely didn't live up to the Hype... read more

Great experience relative to softball. The complex's was beautiful. I can't believe the state of their bathrooms. Please maintain and clean these stalls! I agree with all of the other reviews, I was just hopeful they were wrong. read more

Let me tell you how disappointed I was with this place. Let me start off with the opening ceremony. During the opening ceremony the was about 500 people and no where to sit or get shade. For the amount of land they had, they only had a total of 5 places to get shade. Everyone during that ceremony everyone was waiting for one thing. Cal Ripken. Guess what, he didn't show. They ended up putting a recording of him welcoming us, which defeated the whole purpose. The kids were so upset. During the rest of the week there was barely any shade for the players families and friends to hide from the sun. The only thing they have is the bleachers that were extremely small. They have artificial turf which obviously save money on the maintenance But it doesn't me you don't have to maintain where the parents sit. On the bleachers and in the small plants around the facility were these thick disgusting spriderwebs. I swear, it looked as if they left Halloween decorations on the trees. It was really gross. Also, everything is extremely expensive. A small bottle of water was $2.50. Luckily there is a gas station in the corner where may parents would buy the snacks and drinks for the team. Maybe Mr. Ripken should travel to the Disney baseball tournament and take some notes. There is absolutely no way you wil EVER see me there again. read more

Amazingly run, great fields, place was a wonderful experience..... only complaint? For all the money they poured into the place- the bathrooms are NASTY!! read more

Beware visitors... this is a beautiful facility with very nice fields. BUT, they have no surveillance cameras and no security. They have an ongoing problem with cars getting broken into. There is a large homeless population near the park and they can walk right into the parking area to hit visitors cars. For what teams/people pay to play there ($79 per player per day for spring training alone) you would think they could afford some measure of security. Disappointing, to say the least. read more

Top notch artifical turf multiple field facility, with a MLB ballpark feeling. World class grounds that are kept immaculate. Bathrooms are some of the cleanest I've ever used. And the workers supply the players with fresh coolers every game. Also they are always out working and picking trash to keep the complex looking great. HIGHLY RECOMMEND EVERYONE TO PLAY THERE OR JUST WALK THE FACILITY AND CHECK IT OUT FIRST HAND!!!! read more

From a mother's standpoint, we really enjoyed the Surf's Up Tournament. Having also been to the Aberdeen facility, I like this one better. Each field has covered bleachers for the spectators and dugouts that are constantly supplied with water and gatorade for the boys. And if you're lucky, your game will have a really funny announcer who plays good music (one of ours got some players, umps and spectators to dance in between innings). TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CONVENIENT SHUTTLE SERVICE, especially if your game is in the far fields. GO REALLY EARLY if you are attending opening ceremonies because parking is a b!+(#! Other than that, there's ample parking. There are lots of ways to win coupons (free appetizer from Sticky Fingers Smokehouse, free junior Frosty, small fry or value drink from Wendy's, free buffet and soft drink from Home Plate Sports Grill, free Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich, etc.)...returning foul balls (limited to three per game), singing during the 4th inning stretch, hitting a homerun and correctly answering trivia questions. Nice way to keep everyone involved and up beat, especially if the game is not quite going your way. There is only one uncovered playground for siblings, but my two (9 and 3) did not even bother with it because they were too busy catching the little fish in the ponds (they were returned unscathed at the end of the game). I don't think this is allowed, but no one stopped them. Their concessions are a bit pricey ($2.50 for bottled water), but we brought in our own individual coolers. We were there during the extreme, record-breaking heat, so most of our concession stops were for shave ice ($3), frozen lemonade ($3) and Dippin' Dots ($3.50 for a cup, $4.50, I think, for a helmet). read more

I struggled between rating this a 2 or a 3. For the amount of money we spent to go there, this trip was more about a vacation in Myrtle Beach, than it was a great tournament for the boys, in my opinion. This followed last years trip to the tournament in Cooperstown and the tournament experience here just didn't compare. We played games on just 2 fields at the complex and 1 at an area high school...they have 2 regulation size fields and 5 youth fields at the complex. The facilities are very nice, to include many netted batting cages, turf fields, restaurant/concession, souvenir shop/store, photo purchase opportunities and bleachers. Parking was free and, with the exception of the opening ceremonies, it was easy to park nearby. It was almost impossible to see the opening ceremonies if you didn't arrive far in advance. I did appreciate the fact that we could take in our own coolers and the boys were provided water during the games. The fields and batting cages appeared to be well maintained. The dugouts were large for the boys and small shaded bleachers were provided for the onlookers, but more shaded areas would have been appreciated. I'm not sure if all fields had additional sets of bleachers (unshaded), but some did. Our competitions (home run derby, etc.) were rained out the 1st day and they told us they would move them to Thursday or Friday, but that didn't happen, I imagine due to a time crunch. Pool play games were scheduled Monday-Wednesday with a 2 hour time limit on 7 innings of play for the 13 year olds. The actual tournament games were held on Thursday and Friday and were 7 complete innings. For the team, this was probably a feel like the big time opportunity to play on turf fields and have your name announced periodically, but they were miserable in the heat. For the parents, bring your coolers, shade/umbrellas, beach towels for padding on the bleachers or your camp chairs. All in all, if you are looking for an excuse to vacation in Myrtle Beach, with some baseball on the side, I would recommend it during the cooler months, but not July, since it was a sweltering 115 degrees (we were told) on the turf while the boys played. If a baseball tournament is your primary reason for travel and you are travelling far like we did, I recommend you "experience" one closer to home. read more

The playing fields themselves were very nice and the kids will definitely remember the experience of playing on them.The competition levels are where things go of course. The vast majority of kids playing little league are not on elite or select teams sponsored by equipment manufacturers or a shoe company. These tournaments should be better organized into classes so competition is more fair.That being said, it was a still an experience for the kids to see where they match up. They warn coaches that umpires will not reverse calls but when an umpire has even the announcer questioning what they are seeing it leads you to believe that tournament officials really don't care about fair competition. The concession food was absolutely disgusting and the bathroom facilities were pretty poor for what you would expect from the Ripken Family. Being in Myrtle Beach on the ocean made this a whole lot easier to take but if you are in it for strictly the baseball I would say you can do better.Bottom line, they are in it for the money not the kids read more

Great facility, professionally managed. The fields really are exceptional and the facility is far superior to the Aberdeen, MD facility! The fact that you can bring your own cooler in is FANtastic...and absolutely essential in the SC heat! Really was the week of a lifetime! read more

This place is great. We showed up to hit some balls and not knowing it was for teams, they hooked us up with a bucket of practice balls for some live BP. Outstanding service. read more

I do not recommend attending a tournament here. They charge thousands of dollars per team to play on turf fields that are so hot the athletes can barely stand on them their feet get so hot. Its a huge money grab, they charge coaches to stand in the dugouts. If you want the photographers to take your son's picture you have to pay $20 for that privilege and then you have to purchase the pictures that start at $20 for a 5x7. There are constant messages regarding good sportsmanship and respecting the game but when those two things do not happen they stand by and do nothing. In fact, we were told by Alan, a Ripken staff member, if you don't like it, don't come back, we don't need your money. If that doesn't prove their only thought is the bottom line nothing will. read more

Heading down for the Jennie Finch fastpitch tourney July 23-28 with the family. Our oldest daughter is playing in the 16U/18U division. She and the team are excited, but I am frustrated with the lack of information available. The website only has baseball information - no fastpitch and the tourney search is not working. I have no idea what to expect, but based on what I have experienced preparing for the trip, there is a lot to be desired. Disappointing for the cost that we have incurred to sign up. Will re-visit this post upon completion of the tourney. read more

This tournament is way over priced for what you get. We went to Cooperstown Dream Park last year and was hoping this would be as good. We were VERY disappointed. This is not an Experience it is a tournament, a VERY over priced tournament. We paid 750 per kid for Cooperstown and got housing on the comples, meals, two uniforms, coaches apparel and a Ring. We paid 695 per kid for Ripken andgot housing several miles from the complex, no meals, no uniforms, 1 coaches jacket per coach, 1 cheap hat and a bobble head for the boys. What a let down. It would have been a good tournament if it were at regular or even slightly higher tournament fees. Some umpires had very poor attitudes, some of the directors had poor attitudes. I would not recommend this to anyone! read more

This park is awesome!!! Our team stayed at the Anchorage II which was a short 15 minute drive to the park. This place is super nice and very reasonable. www.condosatmyrtlebeach.com read more

Must say I've looked forward to coming here for a couple years and man what a disappointment. I'm a huge fan of Ripken and all he's done for baseball and I'm sure he would hate knowing his name is attached to our experience. First off we had one particular umpire(Westside grounds on 11/11 at 11:15am) who obviously thought everyone came to see him and besides being horrible ,threw our coach out twice in two days for absolutely nothing. Now I can promise you I've been playing and coaching my entire life (Including college and minor leagues) and I've been guilty of deserving the axe myself several times but this guy called a 9u baseball game in the 4th inning because his poor little ego got bruised when a call was questioned (respectfully I might add). After speaking with the directors they finally after an hour said we could play but both coaches from our team were ejected and couldn't be near the field. We responded with a thank you as this is for the kids not us. We appreciated them bringing in a new crew and giving our boys this opportunity. Well after West Raleigh (classless cry babies) insisted our parents not be allowed to attend the game, our entire parent section was told to stay away from the fields while a team mom coached our boys the rest of the game. We had to sit back from a few hundred yards away and watch our boys be surrounded by these classless jerks. Funny thing is we never had a crossed word with the coaches or parents until they excessively cheered while the ignorant (no juevos having ump) called a game cause someone forgot to give Barney his one bullet. Anyway, the directors should have kept their word and not allowed a bunch of whiners to make their decisions for them. I've seen brawls in the stands over the years that didn't warrant this type of decision. In all my years this was the worst baseball I've seen. And to you Barney(ump) you weren't ready:) And we DID finish that game! Ha read more

I am giving it 2 stars just because the fields are great! The kids loved the experience of playing on a turf field. Loved all the warm up areas and batting cages. We also loved that it was free to get in! The bad part you never know who will be umpiring. In our case I have never seen such bad umpires. Bad call after bad call. It was terrible! Never again! And the "smoke free" facility Ha there were parents from another team by the woods smoking! If tournament officials would have been at each game hopefully none of this would have happened, but I didn't see anyone until the end of our last game. And he was only there to see who won to move on. read more