FORT WAYNE – The Summit City was named the third-best market in the country for Minor League sports, according to SportsBusiness Journal’s bi-annual rankings. The TinCaps, the ECHL’s Komets and the NBADL’s Mad Ants helped Fort Wayne improve 16 spots from its 2013 ranking.

“It’s an honor to see Fort Wayne third in the entire country,” TinCaps Team President Mike Nutter said. “It’s great recognition for our region and the teams that play here. We are approaching the close to our seventh season at Parkview Field and we are at our highest attendance ever in team history. Our fans and supporters are tremendous, and we appreciate the national recognition and hope that we continue to rise up the rankings until we once again achieve the number one spot.”

SportsBusiness Journal previously ranked Fort Wayne first in 2007 and second in 2009.

The second-largest city in Indiana was third out of 229 markets studied, which included 386 different teams across 48 leagues. Markets that were home to an MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL or MLS franchise were not measured. The rankings were based on the tenure and attendance of minor league franchises and the economic impact those franchises had on each market.

SportsBusiness Journal reported that the TinCaps, Komets and Mad Ants attendance figures were most important in determining its ranking.

The report stated, “Over the past nearly six decades, the ECHL Komets routinely have been one of the top draws in minor league hockey…as for the TinCaps, they drew a record 411,000 fans in their 2014 season, the club’s third straight year with an attendance increase. The Mad Ants have averaged more than 78,000 fans per season since they began play in 2007. Overall, the area’s attendance-to-population ratio of 1.8-to-1 is the second highest of any multiple-team market in our study. Only Portland, Maine, has a higher ratio (2-to-1).”

This year the TinCaps are on pace to average more fans per game than any other season at Parkview Field. Better than 5,900 fans make it out to the ballpark on a nightly basis.

Only Quad Cities (Moline-Rock Island, Illinois/Davenport-Bettendorf, Iowa) and Toledo, Ohio, finished ahead of Fort Wayne. In addition to the TinCaps, 13 other Midwest League markets appeared on SportsBusiness Journal’s list.