Greenville named No. 2 minor league market

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Greenville was named the second-best minor league market in the United States by Sports Business Journal, using metrics that included average attendance, each team's tenure, as well as each city's economic standing.

Grand Rapids, Mich., was ranked first and Charleston was third in the top 10 rankings.

The analysis considered South Atlantic League’s Greenville Drive baseball team and the East Coast Hockey League’s Swamp Rabbits, but not Greenville’s newest pro team, the Greenville Triumph Soccer Club, which is in its first year.

"It's an honor to live, work and play in Greenville," Swamp Rabbits CEO Doug Heinzer said in a news release. "This is a big reason why we are so committed to enriching our community in any way we can."

A 43.69 on the Sports Business Journal scale in 2013, and 69th in the nation, Greenville now sits at a 96.34. Grand Rapids scored 100, the release said.

The Swamp Rabbits have enjoyed rising attendance in the past five seasons. Both the Swamp Rabbits, and the Greenville Drive, Single-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, filled 78% of available seats over the past five years, according to the release.

The population of Greenville has risen since the turn of the millennium. The U.S. Census put Greenville's population at 56,002 after two decades of decline. Current estimates in 2018 put the population at 68,563.