SAL1 Charleston RiverDogs

RiverDogs set all-time attendance record

Published on September 2, 2006 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release


CHARLESTON, SC - The Charleston RiverDogs established a new Charleston professional baseball record for season attendance Saturday night, as a paid crowd of 4,009 moved the 2006 total to 260,529 fans through the gates at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park this season.

The new record surpasses the total of 259,007 set at "The Joe" in 2003. In 65 openings of the gates this season, the RiverDogs are averaging 4,008 fans. The team hopes to add on to its new mark, as there are still two home games scheduled for Sunday and Monday.

"We are grateful to the support from our fans and the entire community this season," said RiverDogs General Manager Dave Echols. "There were so many facets factoring in to allow us to reach this mark, not the least of which were our relationships with the Yankees, the Citadel and the city."

Owned by the city of Charleston, Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park opened in April, 1997 in a unique partnership with The Citadel. The first season at "The Joe" - named for the city's current and long-time mayor - the RiverDogs established a new single season attendance mark of 234,840 fans, a record that would be eclipsed five out of the next six seasons (1998-03).

After two seasons without reaching 2003's record total, the RiverDogs opened with a bang in '06, setting an opening-night attendance record of 7,032 on April 6. Later in the season, the club broke the all-time Riley Park single-game mark by drawing 8,257 fans for a pre-Independence Day game against the Rome Braves.

"While we are more than pleased with what the organization has accomplished this season, I think setting this record will only make us strive harder to improve next year," said Echols. "With the staff we have in place in the RiverDogs front office, I only see these numbers going up in the future."

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