Fun is Good: The Holy City’s Ballpark and the Power of Joy, Unity, and Healing
Some philosophies take pages to explain.
The one that guides the Charleston RiverDogs fits on a napkin.
Fun is good.
It is not a slogan. It is not marketing language. It is a three word business philosophy introduced by Mike Veeck and carried forward by Dave Echols, who has spent nearly two decades making sure it stays intact.
When Dave says his job is not to build the culture but to not screw it up, he means it. Fun is good is not about gimmicks or noise. It is about trust. If people are having fun while they work, the thinking goes, they will be better at every part of the job. If the staff feels it, the fans will too.
You feel it the moment you walk through the gates.
A Ballpark That Changes Your Pace
The Charleston RiverDogs play their home games on the edge of the peninsula, where the Ashley River bends and the breeze moves slowly through the stands. From the press box behind home plate, you can see the water on one side and the marsh on the other. Sunsets are not an add on here. They are part of the experience.
Dave has watched thousands of people come through those gates over the years. Families. Couples. Grandparents. Locals. Visitors.
He notices the same thing every time.
People relax.
Shoulders drop. Conversations slow. Phones disappear. It is not about rushing to your seat or tracking the score. It is about being present. Catching the breeze. Watching Charlie run around. Participating between innings. Taking a giveaway home. Sometimes forgetting who even won the game.
That is not accidental. It is cultivated.
Quality, Affordable, Family Entertainment
Minor league baseball is often described as a rung on the ladder. For players, Charleston is a stop on the way to somewhere else. For fans, it is a destination.
Dave describes the RiverDogs simply as quality, affordable, family entertainment. That phrase carries weight here. Affordable food. A welcoming atmosphere. A place where kids can laugh and adults can exhale.
Wins and losses matter. Dave is competitive. He wants to win. But attendance does not depend on the scoreboard. If the culture is right, people show up whether the team is 16-0 or 0-16.
That belief has held through championships, rebuilding years, and everything in between.
When Joy Became Something More
The most powerful chapter in the RiverDogs story did not begin with baseball.
It began with tragedy.
In 2015, the Mother Emanuel Church shooting took place just a few miles from the ballpark. One of the victims was the mother of a former RiverDogs employee. The loss was personal. The pain was close.
Games were still scheduled.
City leaders gathered to decide what to do next.
The mayor’s message was simple.
The ballpark is a place where people can feel safe. Where they can relax. Where they can heal. So play the games. Open the gates.
And that is exactly what they did.
People came not for distraction, but for connection. To sit together. To breathe. To remember that community still existed in a moment that threatened to fracture it.
From that period came a deeper sense of unity. A reaffirmation of why the team mattered to the city. Even the Holy City nickname, now woven into RiverDogs identity and merchandise, carries that story quietly forward.
Stewardship Over Spectacle
Dave talks often about stewardship. About being part of Charleston, not operating above it.
The RiverDogs are out in the community constantly. Writing checks. Supporting hospitals. Showing up for causes that matter. Saying yes more than no.
That responsibility comes from ownership that understands its role. Owners who let leaders lead. Who encourage creativity without micromanagement. Who believe fun and professionalism are not opposites.
It is why the RiverDogs have become a fixture rather than a novelty.
A Place You Can Trust
At its best, a ballpark becomes something more than a venue.
It becomes familiar. Reliable. A place you trust.
That trust is built slowly. By staff who care. By leadership that listens. By a philosophy simple enough to remember and strong enough to hold.
Fun is good.
Sometimes that means laughter. Sometimes it means silence. Sometimes it means opening the gates when the city needs somewhere to go.
And sometimes it means reminding people that joy is not frivolous. It is foundational.
Life is too short to wait for someday.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is play the games and open the gates.
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