PORTLAND, Maine — Sports fans love to comb through stat sheets and power rankings to check in on their favorite teams, players, and sports cities. Now, Maine has some big bragging rights.
Portland was named the No. 1 minor league sports market in the country by the Sports Business Journal. It's a big jump for Maine's largest city after being ranked No. 71 in 2022, the last time the outlet released its rankings.
Before this year, Portland was ranked as high as No. 5 in 2011 and as low as No. 142 in 2017, which was shortly after the Portland Pirates were relocated to Springfield, Massachusetts.
SBJ analyzed attendance trends, merchandize sales, community involvement, and workplace culture when making its rankings. A plus for Portland, the city will soon welcome its fourth minor league team when the Hearts of Pine begin play in the USL League One next spring.
The Sea Dogs wrapped up the organization's 30th season in Portland this fall. Team president and general manager Geoff Iacuessa told the SBJ that overall revenue has hit "record levels in each of the past three seasons," according to the article.
The team has a long history of developing the Boston Red Sox top prospects, especially this past summer, when some of the best minor league players in the country played at Hadlock Field.
The Maine Mariners kicked off their sixth ECHL season over the weekend, splitting a two-game series with the Wheeling Nailers. According to the Mariners, the team reported a 16 percent year-over-year attendance increase from 2022-23 to last season. The team is also entering a new chapter this season with new owner Dexter Paine.
In 2021, the Mariners became the third minor league team in Portland to have an affiliation with their professional counterpart in Boston. The Mariners are the ECHL affiliate of the Bruins, the Sea Dogs are the Double A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, and the Maine Celtics were purchased by the Boston Celtics in 2019 and continue to be the team's G-League affiliate.
Despite being in one of the G League's smallest markets, the Maine Celtics are one of the top teams in the league when it comes to revenue and merchandise sales, according to the article. The team also continues to impress with its social media following and engagement. Evans Boston, the Maine Celtics senior director of public and community relations, told the SBJ that the team has the most Instagram followers out of another other team in Portland.
Coming off the team's first appearance in the G League finals last season, the Maine Celtics begin the 2024-25 campaign on Nov. 8 in Long Island. The first home game of the season will be Friday, Nov. 15, at the Portland Expo.
The city's newest minor league team has been generating a lot of buzz months before taking the field. Hearts of Pine will join the USL League One this spring and the soccer club has already pre-sold 4,500 season tickets.
The club will call Fitzpatrick Stadium home and will put in roughly $3 million in facility upgrades.
Team President Kevin Schohl told the SBJ that the Hearts have already sold $170,000 in merchandize since April and hope to break the USL record of merch sales before its first game, which is $202,000.
The club is expecting a boost in sales after its "kit," or uniform, reveal on Nov. 21.
Local soccer star Gabe-Hoffman Johnson has led the effort to bring a professional team to Portland since 2017 and has been heavily involved in the club's pre-season ticket sales, promotions, and community outreach events as a way to grow the sport across Maine.