Sporting News to move to Charlotte

Sporting News magazine will move its Chesterfield operations to the Charlotte, N.C. headquarters of parent company American City Business Journals Inc.

Sporting News has about 30 local employees.

Last summer, American City -which publishes the St. Louis Business Journal and other business and sports publications -consolidated the New York and St. Louis online operations of SportingNews.com in Charlotte.

Pittsburgh Business Times, which is also owned by American City, first reported the move.

Whitney Shaw, president of Sporting News, did not return a phone call seeking comment Friday. A spokesman also did not return a call, but Sporting News employees confirmed the move.

Founded in 1886 in St. Louis, Sporting News offered coverage of baseball, boxing and horse racing and eventually carved out a reputation as the “Bible of Baseball.” American City bought the publication in 2006.

Sporting News says it has about 703,000 subscriptions and a total audience of 4.46 million, heavily weighted towards male readers. Each publication is read by more than six readers on average. But the publication faces tough competition from ESPN, Sports Illustrated and other sources of sports news.