Charleston to host in 2011, Greenville in 2012, 2013

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced today (November 5) future dates for the league’s baseball championship.  The league has agreed to award the 2011 Southern Conference Baseball Championship to the city of Charleston, S.C., and the 2012 and 2013 events to Greenville, S.C. 

“As a conference, we are thrilled to have two outstanding host sites for our future baseball tournaments that have both proven their ability to host high-quality, fan-friendly events,” said Southern Conference Commissioner John Iamarino. “Charleston has done a great job in hosting the tournament throughout the past two decades, and our student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans were very positive about the experience in Greenville in 2009. We look forward to the continued growth and success of these events in the future.”

The annual event has a history of success in both cities as Charleston staged the tournament at College Park and later Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park for 19 consecutive seasons from 1990-2008. The tournament drew in excess of 20,000 fans each year from 1998-2007 with a high of 35,150 in 2004.

Riley Park is the 6,000-seat home of the Class A Charleston River Dogs, a South Atlantic League affiliate of the New York Yankees. Built along the banks of the Ashley River in 1997, Riley Park will also serve as the host of the 2010 Southern Conference Baseball Championship from May 26-30, 2010.

The 2009 Southern Conference Baseball Championship was the first held at Greenville’s Fluor Field at the West End. 17,820 fans attended the five-day event, including 2,388 who saw Georgia Southern defeat Elon in the championship game, marking the largest-ever attendance at a SoCon championship game not featuring the host team.

Fluor Field, which seats 5,700 fans and is modeled after Boston’s Fenway Park, is the home of the Class A Greenville Drive, the Boston Red Sox’s South Atlantic League affiliate.