Each one of this year’s top 10 markets achieved that ranking at least one other time in the past. But sustaining that status is not easy. Here are six markets that could make a play for our top 10 list the next time.
12. Birmingham, Ala.
The Class AA Barons have played 42 seasons in the city, and a new football stadium as well as massive renovations at the arena and soccer pitch should position the market for a move up. But things could go the other direction if the fledgling USFL falters.
39. Dayton, Ohio
The Class A Dragons’ sellout streak is legendary. This year the club had the highest average attendance rate in all of minor league baseball. Average attendance fell 7.8% from 2012 to 2018, but this year the club was one of the few to top its 2019 average.
18. Hershey, Pa.
The No. 1 market in 2009 and 2011, this is the second consecutive time the region has not appeared among the top 10. Its three existing franchises — the AHL Hershey Bears, Class AA Harrisburg Senators and MASL Harrisburg Heat — have been in the market for a total of 136 seasons. The Bears continue to be one of the top draws in minor league hockey. The penalty incurred for losing its USL club will be off the books next time.
13. Knoxville, Tenn.
The Class A Smokies and SPHL Ice Bears filled more than 70% of their seats over the past five seasons, and site work has begun on a new $80 million ballpark that will bring baseball back downtown, after spending a generation in a suburb 20 miles away. The city recently wrapped up an $11 million arena makeover, and the Ice Bears’ 2021-22 average attendance nearly matched their all-time high of the 3,800 achieved in the three seasons leading up to the pandemic.
71. Portland, Maine
The market filled 68% of its available seats over the course of the 2022 study, higher than all but one of the top 10 (Greenville, S.C., topped 72%). The Class AA Sea Dogs this year had their best attendance since 2010, and the penalty for losing the indoor football team will be gone next time. (And we won’t ding the city just because the NBA G League team changed its name from the more minor-league sounding RedClaws to the Celtics.)
33. Richmond, Va.
The market finished last in the 2009 ranking, after losing the Class AAA Braves (which followed shutdowns of two indoor football teams and a pair of hockey clubs). The two-team market (Class AA Flying Squirrels and USL League One Kickers) has slowly climbed up the rankings since, but the long-running unsuccessful attempt at getting a new ballpark continues to hurt its score.
