📍 Charleston, South Carolina
⚾ Home of the Charleston RiverDogs

The home of minor league baseball in the Holy City for nearly thirty years, Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park opened in 1997 and is named for the long-tenured Charleston mayor who helped the facility get built. The 6,000-seat ballpark – affectionately nicknamed “The Joe” – replaced tiny College Park and hosts not only the Carolina League’s RiverDogs but also The Citadel Bulldogs college baseball team, who still hold practice games at the teams’ joint former venue.

The current RiverDogs franchise began as the Charleston Royals in 1980, transitioning to become the Rainbows five years later and finally adopting the RiverDogs moniker for the 1994 season. Along the way, the team has been a farm team for the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees. The Rays, with whom the RiverDogs are now affiliated with for the second time, have been the parent club since 2021.

In addition to The Citadel, The Joe has hosted plenty of college baseball, including more than a dozen Southern Conference tournaments and a few marquee Palmetto State matchups between foes Clemson and South Carolina.

The ballpark is notable for its Lowcountry aesthetics, like the palm tree-filled berm down the first base line and the endless swamp that lies adjacent to the stadium beyond its first base concourse. String lights greet fans outside the main entrance, and a posh suite area – also on the first base side – is adorned with rustic beachy decor, whitewashed walls and chic chandeliers.

The Joe boasts a unique spread of concession items as well, from teriyaki brisket bowls and General Tso’s chicken to Nashville hot tacos and pickles on a stick. There are even several vegan options, such as cauliflower pizza.

The exposed brick throughout the ballpark is painted over in several places with murals celebrating both baseball history in the Holy City and the RiverDogs’ accomplishments. The venue is home to the Charleston Baseball Hall of Fame, enshrining members like Brett Gardner, Joseph P. Riley, Jr. and The Citadel’s 1990 College World Series team. Elsewhere in the park stands the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame and the Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame.

Over the years, the ‘Dogs have been a team of firsts. They were the first minor league baseball team to stream their games live on the internet, doing so in 1998. They were the first in their league to win three straight titles – raising banners in 2021, 2022 and 2023. And as high-caliber minor league baseball continues to be played in Charleston, the RiverDogs will likewise continue their pioneering ways.