Minor league baseball is thriving in North Carolina, which is home to nine officially sanctioned MiLB franchises, more than all but California, Florida and New York. The game’s business potential has attracted such team owners as Jim Goodmon’s Capitol Broadcasting Co. and Billy Prim, chief executive officer of Winston-Salem-based Primo Water Corp. While the Durham Bulls reigned as the state’s star franchise for decades — thank you, Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon — the Charlotte Knights are stealing some thunder after leading the nation in minor league attendance in 2014 with 687,715 fans over 71 games. Fans continue to flock to downtown Charlotte’s new BB&T Ballpark, which in 2014 replaced a Fort Mill, S.C., stadium that had lost its luster. The Knights boasted an average attendance of 9,430 through Aug. 20, again leading the minors.