In Case You Haven't Heard…

Bruce Springsteen played the 1st Mariner Arena, Friday, November 20th. (I know this posting is more than a week late but I've been sick -- still am actually. Let's hope it was/is H1N1.) Here is a round-up of reviews:

• Baltimore City Paper's Geoffrey Himes. 
  
• Baltimore Magazine's John Lewis blog, All The Pieces Matter.
• Baltimore Sun's Sam Sessa. And his Midnight Sun blog entry.
• WNST's Drew Forrester.
• Baltimore Brew's Tom Waldron.
• And mine, "Awesome."

… And from Las Vegas

The mayor of Las Vegas brought up his city's quest for a NBA franchise (and new arena) last week.

"A Cautionary Tale…"

News from Field of Schemes that Wichita won't be getting any part of the NCAA men's basketball tournament for some time. Wichita is kind of screwed by building the Intrust Bank Arena that seats "around 15,000 for basketball." I love the quote, from Paul Suellentrop's article in The Wichita Eagle, from NCAA men's basketball associate director David Worlock, "It's ultra-competitive, especially in the Midwest." Good thing there aren't a lot of arenas in the East. Oh, wait…

Meanwhile, In Brooklyn…

Developer Bruce C. Ratner "unveiled the latest design for the 18,000-seat arena". The new design is from architectural firm, SHoP, and replaces the one that replaces the original Frank Gehry plan. Charles V. Bagli reports that Ratner will "try to raise about $700 million in tax-exempt financing." And if you haven't heard, a lot of people don't want an arena in Brooklyn.

In Other News, Water is Wet

New Baltimore Arena decision delayed.

"If You Build It, They Might Not Come"

Kansas City's arena is often used as an example of how Baltimore should build its new arena. Yet the Sprint Center will be two years old in the fall, and still doesn't have a full-time tenant. The Atlantic's article, simply titled The Empty Arena, makes the case, "If you build it, they may not come." 

David Steele's Opinion

In the March 19th "Faceoff" column, The Baltimore Sun's David Steele promotes the need for a new Baltimore Arena while answering the question, "Should the state step in to save horse racing and the Preakness?". Mr. Steele argues that "Saving Pimlico and the Preakness would energize the one day each year that racing remains relevant and profitable. A way-overdue downtown arena would benefit the city and state practically every day." 

How To Create A Successful Urban Stadium

…is the title of a well-thought opinion piece written by Cavan Wilk for the website, Greater Greater Washington. Wilk's article was spurred by the DC United's quest for a stadium in the DC suburbs. The bulk of the article lists the "fundamental characteristics of a successful urban stadium" that DC's Verizon Center possesses.

Potential Arena Developer In Financial Pinch

This story is a few days old: The Baltimore Business Journal (subscription required - Ed.) reports that one of the new arena developers, Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse Inc. "has defaulted on nearly $6 million in loans it borrowed to finance its construction projects and is facing lawsuits from Baltimore-area contractors seeking to collect wages from work on Struever's developments." The article quotes and optimistic Bill Stuever and that the company plans to "work through (their) financial problems."

Some Baltimore History

According to historian Wayne Schaumburg, "If you've been to the Baltimore Arena, you've stood where The Great Baltimore Fire started."

New Arena Construction Could Be Three Years Away

Or more. Or, as unlikely as it may be, less.  The Maryland Daily Record reports that "the city's Board of Estimates approved a $100,000 contract extension with SMG, the operator of 1st Mariner Arena, with the option for two year-long renewals, meaning that the arena will continue to operate until at least June 30, 2010, and maybe until June 2012."

Happy New Year, The Blog Is Back!

December 2008 brought a nasty flu (which rolled into a nasty chest cold) and some holiday downtime. Let's all get caught up, shall we?

• Baltimore Grows has a great overview of the new arena proposals. 
• Architect Frank Gehry laid off "Almost all the people who were working on the Brooklyn (arena) project", Atlantic Yards. It is looks like the Nets might stay in New Jersey for a while longer.
• Architectural firm RTKL closed down its sports division.
• Baltimore Examiner opinion piece from December 21, 2008.
• The First Mariner Arena tries to stop the decline in food and beverage concessions.
• Baltimore Sun opinion piece from December 29. 2008
• Soccerticketsonline.com considers the First Mariner Arena to be the ninth most historic U.S. soccer site.
• Billboard names the First Mariner Arena "the 13th best venue in the world, based on ticket sales."