New Baltimore Arena?! BREAKING NEWS

[folsomfanatic]

Just on FOX 45:

First on Fox tonight.

Could Baltimore be home to a new sports arena?

There's a good chance of that happening.

The 1st Mariner Arena is 44 years old and clearly needs to be replaced.

The indication is the city would like to rebuild on the current site, if the project ever gets underway.

That would leave the city without an indoor venue for as much as five years.

Baltimore businessman Ed Hale, who owns the Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team, doesn't like that idea, and he wants to build his own venue.

Hale has earmarked a parcel on Boston Street near I-95 for a new arena for his team.

He envisions a 12,000-15,000 seat facility that would host not only the Blast, but also the circus, ice shows and concerts that currently play at the old arena.

Hale says he's already done the preliminary canvassing.

There have been no timetables set for either the building of the proposed arena or the demolition of the old one, which, coincidentally enough, hale owns the naming rights for.

Hale says he'd like to get underway with the project as soon as possible.



Sounds like a great idea. my only worry is that the proposed stadium is too small for an NBA or NHL team. it'd be nice to have the option/flexibility should it ever arise (though highly unlikely). i'm also a little worried about having the stadium so far away from the CBD. it'd be nice to have it be centerpiece in Downtown, but a new arena would be fantastic!

[ajoutz]

That sounds really good.

[NovaWolverine]

Finally.

[micrip]

About time we had a separate arena thread!!

If he builds it with 15,000 seats, that should be enough to attract concerts, NCAA regionals, and the like.

Ideally, if it is not built with at least 18,000 seats, it should be at least designed to be expandable to that level if an opportunity arises to aquire an NBA or NHL team.

I've said it before and I believe it to still be true...the Balt-Wash area is unable to support two NHL teams...there are not enough hockey fans to go around. The Caps are playing below capacity as it is, and that's with heavy discounting on many season ticket packages. And the Caps get quite a few fans from the Baltimore area...kinda like the situation that existed with the O's before the Nats arrived. There's an old saying..."only hockey fans watch hockey" so I don't see much chance of an NHL team moving in.

The NBA may be a different matter. I believe there may be a pent-up demand for basketball in this area, but I'm sure there would be opposition from the Wizards to any team moving into Baltimore.

[StevenW]

Great news, however I'd really be happy if it was planned for seating of 18,000 people at least. I mean, if you're thinking 15,000 then why not go ahead and spend a little more on 3,000 more seats and give Baltimore an arena to be proud of and not one that's ridiculed as we all do the downtown venue now. Ya know?

[waj0527]

Originally Posted by folsomfanatic

Sounds like a great idea. my only worry is that the proposed stadium is too small for an NBA or NHL team. it'd be nice to have the option/flexibility should it ever arise (though highly unlikely). i'm also a little worried about having the stadium so far away from the CBD. it'd be nice to have it be centerpiece in Downtown, but a new arena would be fantastic!

12-15 intial capacity doesnt mean that it can't be expanded. Just means some extra concrete will be exposed in the upper level. University of Miami did this with their Bank United Center.

[jamie_hunt]

Originally Posted by micrip

About time we had a separate arena thread!!

If he builds it with 15,000 seats, that should be enough to attract concerts, NCAA regionals, and the like.

Ideally, if it is not built with at least 18,000 seats, it should be at least designed to be expandable to that level if an opportunity arises to aquire an NBA or NHL team.

Amen. For development, sports, and politics junkies (guilty on all three counts), the next several years are going to be fantastic. In the spirit of Clue ("Colonel Mustard with the candlestick in the library"), am going with "Wealthy African-American ownership group with the relocated LA Clippers in a 20,000 seat arena at Russell and Bush Streets* (across from Ray Lewis's development and down a bit from Ravens Stadium)"

Served by an elevated railway from the Inner Harbor visitor center that follows the median of Conway Street, then the right of way of the existing railroad line.

And serving as the Baltimore station for the Maglev.

With an attached casino. (Hey, figured as long as the dice were rolling ...)

*Not saying this is the right location. Just guessing it'll be the one chosen.

[sdeclue]

Hale specifically said it wouldn't be bigger because the chance of landing an NHL or NBA team is highly unlikely. I really think we could land an NBA team if we wanted to and would definitely support one.

[Tricia_Lvs_Baltimore]

Yes, an NBA team would work.

[Xander21]

Love the idea of a new arena.

Hate the idea of anything less than 15,000 seats in it.

Hate the idea of it being on Boston St.

Hate the idea of Baltimore being without an arena for 5 years.


Mixed bag here IMO.

[PeterSmith]

The NBA has said for years that an expansion team would find a home in Baltimore if the city would just build an arena, so, unless something that suddenly changed, Hale is using this as an excuse to cover up the true reasons why he won't build a higher-capacity arena. I'm not familiar with the site he's chosen, but my guess is that he wants the new arena near Canton Crossing, but there isn't a site large enough to accomodate a 18,000+ capacity arena.

With any luck, we'll get Hale's arena on Boston Street and a new arena at the site of the present one that will be large enough to support an NBA and NHL team. It might not be a bad idea to have two arenas if we ever hope to try for the Olympics again.

On a side note, if a new arena gets built on Boston Steet, I wonder if that will affect the alignment options for the Red Line.

[jamie_hunt]

Originally Posted by PeterSmith

With any luck, we'll get Hale's arena on Boston Street and a new arena at the site of the present one that will be large enough to support an NBA and NHL team. It might not be a bad idea to have two arenas if we ever hope to try for the Olympics again.

Interesting. Any idea what size venues the Olympics is requires? Right now, we have arenas at Towson, UMBC, and Coppin that hold 4000+. Attendance at indoor soccer runs 4000-8000/game league-wide (per a scan of Blast box scores in The Sun). Is it possible that Hale would do a 8-10,000 capacity facility on Boston Street while a 19,000 cap building happened downtown? Are there enough other events happening to keep the both buildings busy? Would Cantonites have a conniption at the thought of the traffic Hales's facility would bring (thinking of the complaints about the Icon project here)?

[PeterSmith]

I actually have no idea about the specifics that the IOC looks to for host cities, but it certainly can't hurt to say that we have two brand new arenas capable of seating 10,000-20,000 people. In recent years, I believe the IOC has looked favorably on cities that already have the facilities constructed as opposed to those that promise to build them in time for the Games. Montreal just paid off this year the debt that it acquired from the 1976 games. I believe LA is still working the hole it got itself into with the 1984 games, and Athens is also in financial trouble after 2004. I'm not certain about Atlanta, but I think Barcelona is the only host city in recent times to really see the benefits associated with hosting the Olympics.

Anyhow, I think it's safe to say that Cantonites will oppose an arena on Boston St., but I figure that by the time this arena is set to become reality, Canton will already be marked by Canton Crossing and the Icon. The more battles they lose, the weaker their next fight will likely be.
In reality, though, their fears will probably be well-founded with regards to an arena on Boston St. if nothing is done to ease traffic.

[jamie_hunt]

Originally Posted by PeterSmith

I think it's safe to say that Cantonites will oppose an arena on Boston St., but I figure that by the time this arena is set to become reality, Canton will already be marked by Canton Crossing and the Icon. The more battles they lose, the weaker their next fight will likely be.
In reality, though, their fears will probably be well-founded with regards to an arena on Boston St. if nothing is done to ease traffic.

Right. The four-lanes-to-two bottleneck caused by the railroad bridge just east of Canton Crossing would be a big problem. Regarding Canton's fight: didn't Nietzche say something like, "that which doesn't kill me makes me stronger." Don't sell Canton folks short. ;-)

[DemolitionDave]

The Cantonites might oppose it, but they pretty much have been labeled as "toothless" with their opposition to the tower going up on the Boatel site being squashed.
The big developers in Baltimore seem to be able to do as they please. Just look at Inner Harbor East. It dwarfs Little Italy.

[PeterSmith]

Blast owner proposes new arena in Canton
Hale concerned how study's decision on 1st Mariner will affect team
By Kent Baker
Sun Reporter
Originally published April 11, 2007, 5:30 PM EDT
Blast owner Ed Hale, the chairman and chief executive officer of 1st Mariner Bank, would love to see a new arena built in East Baltimore near his headquarters.

Whether that objective will be realized hinges on a multitude of factors.

"Many difficult decisions have to be made, notably funding and location," said Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership, one of a host of organizations working on a two-part study examining the state of 1st Mariner Arena that is scheduled to be released next month. "We have to keep all the options open."

The Maryland Stadium Authority commissioned the study of 1st Mariner nearly three years ago to determine whether it would be more feasible to upgrade the building or replace it. Hale's idea to build in Canton is not a part of that report.

In an interview with the Examiner on Tuesday, Hale said "five years out" was his timetable for a 12,000- to 15,000-seat arena on a 28-acre plot currently owned by Exxon near the Boston Street exit off Interstate 95.

"This is very premature, very preliminary," Hale said today. "I've got a long way to go. I'd have to buy the property, clean it up, work on access and egress off I-95. But I've been talking about building an arena for years."

He is very concerned that if a decision is made to rebuild on the current site, his team would have no suitable alternative place in which to play, a problem that would also be faced by concerts and other entertainment vehicles that use 1st Mariner.

Hale does not believe a larger arena is viable for Baltimore because of what he called "territorial restrictions" that could be imposed by Washington regarding potential NHL and/or NBA franchises.

A consensus must be reached about whether it is cost prohibitive to retrofit a number of fixtures at 1st Mariner or rebuild entirely. Another item being considered is transportation to and from any new arena since mass transit is already in place downtown.

"Where the city and state stand on ownership is to be determined," said Fowler. "Funding and location are the next two steps.

"We're certainly keeping Ed Hale in the loop. He's got a very successful franchise we don't want to disrupt. A new arena, wherever it is, ought to accommodate the Blast."

Don Fry, president of the Greater Baltimore Committee, added: "If a new arena is to be built, other locations will have to be given consideration. Ed is a major stakeholder in this and Canton is a location that will be examined."

[Tricia_Lvs_Baltimore]

It sounds like Hale is developing this "Downtown Baltimore vs. Canton" war. He has another agenda behind developing an arena in Canton. This is so sad.

[Balmurfan]

If we are not going to build a facility that has the ability to hold larger concerts, college sporting events, and the possiblity to accomidate an NBA or NHL team we should just forget about it and keep the POS we have now! Why waste the money???

[micrip]

Originally Posted by PeterSmith

I actually have no idea about the specifics that the IOC looks to for host cities, but it certainly can't hurt to say that we have two brand new arenas capable of seating 10,000-20,000 people. In recent years, I believe the IOC has looked favorably on cities that already have the facilities constructed as opposed to those that promise to build them in time for the Games. Montreal just paid off this year the debt that it acquired from the 1976 games. I believe LA is still working the hole it got itself into with the 1984 games, and Athens is also in financial trouble after 2004. I'm not certain about Atlanta, but I think Barcelona is the only host city in recent times to really see the benefits associated with hosting the Olympics.

Anyhow, I think it's safe to say that Cantonites will oppose an arena on Boston St., but I figure that by the time this arena is set to become reality, Canton will already be marked by Canton Crossing and the Icon. The more battles they lose, the weaker their next fight will likely be.
In reality, though, their fears will probably be well-founded with regards to an arena on Boston St. if nothing is done to ease traffic.

I think any Olympic talk is probably pie in the sky at this point. After the unsuccessful bid for the 2012 games, I don't think this area would be seriously considered until at least 2024. And they might be more trouble then they are worth, as noted above.

Has the 2016 location been selected yet? Does any one know who the front runners are for it?

[CU_rak]

On a side note, if a new arena gets built on Boston Steet, I wonder if that will affect the alignment options for the Red Line.

Excellent point. This would provide significant momentum for the Red Line if the location were near the 1st Mariner tower. Having an arena located far from public transit would create a big traffic mess!