Sports Business Journal has ranked Charleston fifth among minor league sports markets throughout the United States in their biennial ranking released on Monday afternoon. The Charleston RiverDogs are one of three minor league franchises in the city, alongside the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays and the Charleston Battery of the USL Championship. The Charleston market has previously been featured in the top ten five times, including a first-place finish in 2022.
“As part of the Charleston community, everyone involved with the RiverDogs knows how special this market is for minor league sports. It is always fun to see where we sit in comparison to other cities in the professional sports landscape”, said RiverDogs President and General Manager Dave Echols. “This ranking by the Sports Business journal just cements our belief that we have some of the best fans in Minor League Baseball. Along with our friends from the Charleston Battery and South Carolina Stingrays, we are going to continue to work on creating great atmospheres and entertainment options for people in the Holy City to enjoy.”
Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park hosted a total of 256,695 fans this season during 60 RiverDogs home games, an average of 4,278 per game. That average paced the 30 teams that make up the Single-A level. The RiverDogs unveiled a new club seating area at the Joe in 2017, now called “The Segra Club”, which is available year-round for private events. The team will host approximately 180 events in the club during the 2024 calendar year. In addition, the RiverDogs have made more than 200 community appearances this year with many featuring Charlie T. RiverDog and the RiverDogs Food Truck.
This year’s rankings represented the tenth time that Sports Business Journal has produced a ranking of minor league markets. The first came in 2005 and subsequent rankings have ensued every other year until the 2021 edition was pushed back to 2022 due to the pandemic. The project includes rankings of 320 professional teams in 34 leagues from 195 different markets.
Other recent top-rated markets include Portland, ME, Grand Rapids, Des Moines, and the Quad Cities. Charleston has finished among the top five markets in each of the last five rankings from the Sports Business Journal.
A printable version of the RiverDogs 2025 schedule is located here.