Opened	April 6, 1997
Dimensions	LF - 305 LC - 356 CF - 399 RC - 366 RF - 337
Surface	Bermuda Grass
First Game	April 6, 1997 The Citadel 6, Western Carolina 5
Largest Crowd	6,500 April 16, 2014 The Citadel 10, #6 South Carolina 8

Riley Park is more than a playing field for the Bulldogs as The Citadel clubhouse provides individual lockers for each player, a coaches’ locker room, offices for each staff member, a lounge and a meeting space. Further, the walls are lined with graphics highlighting numerous past standouts of The Citadel baseball program, including countless Hall of Famers plus former and current members of the professional ranks.

Additionally, the clubhouse added a special commemoration of the esteemed 1990 College World Series team as well as a championship wall featuring every Southern Conference regular-season and tournament title squad. Notably, the clubhouse also has exclusive tunnels that run to the batting cages and home dugout.

Outside of the team clubhouse, Riley Park also features ample restroom facilities, convenient concession stands, sufficient parking, a state-of-the-art videoboard, an easy-to-read scoreboard with LED lighting, party areas, skyboxes, a comfortable press box with separate radio and television booths, three total locker rooms, an umpires' locker room, training rooms, significant office space and additional amenities available within any state-of-the-art collegiate ballpark.

Designed by HOK Sport, the same architecture firm that designed Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Md., Coors Field in Denver, Colo., Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio, Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. and PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pa., Riley Park is located on the banks of the Ashley River with a view of the Charleston Marina beyond the left-center field wall.

The Bulldogs officially moved into 'The Joe' on April 6, 1997, hosting Southern Conference adversary Western Carolina to commemorate the change of scenery. Memorably, a Ryan Butler two-run walk-off homer lifted Bulldogs to a 6-5 victory over the Catamounts.

The Citadel posted 19 winning seasons in the first 24 years at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. The Bulldogs notched at least 25 home wins seven times, including 27 victories during the 2000 and 2006 seasons.

During the 2014 season, The Citadel set a Charleston baseball attendance record when 6,500 fans came out to see the Bulldogs defeat No. 6 South Carolina, 10-8.

During the inaugural season, Riley Park became home to the Southern Conference Championship, a popular mainstay in the Holy City. One of the most attended collegiate baseball tournaments in the nation, The Citadel and Riley Park hosted the Southern Conference Championship through the 2008 season, marking 19 consecutive years the tournament has been held in Charleston. After a year's absence in Greenville in 2009, the postseason competition returned to 'The Joe' for four of the next six years.

The single-game tournament attendance record of 5,419 was set in 2003 for an opening round game between The Citadel and the College of Charleston. Just a year later, the tournament attendance record when more than 35,000 fans attended the SoCon Championship at Riley Park, an average of 2,343 per game.

Notably, The Citadel won five of the program's eight conference tournament championships in the friendly confines of Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

Riley Park also played host to the Clemson-South Carolina game in 2012 and the Team USA vs. Japan Collegiate Series in 2018.

The Citadel shares its home with the Charleston RiverDogs, the Class-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs currently play in the Carolina League.

-- #HonorDutyRespect --

Charleston Municipal Golf Course

Related Videos

Related News

Footer