"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.

More From Dennis Coates

Dennis Coates, president of the North American Association of Sports Economists, has posted his take on yesterday's Baltimore Sun article. If you recall, he wrote an Op/Ed piece about the proposed new arena for the Sun this past August.

Mr. Coates finds that arena "consulting firms effectively assume that workers on these projects would have been unemployed if not for building the sports venue" and that "if the unemployment rolls continues growing, businesses unable to borrow to finance new projects, and real investment falling ... the possibility of building it dries up." It sounds like Mr. Coates thinks the arena has a shot at getting built before the economy gets really bad.

Anaheim Looking For NBA Team Within Five Years

The OC Register's Eric Carpenter quotes Greg Smith, Anaheim executive director of sports, entertainment and conventions, that "within the next five years, Anaheim will have its own NBA team." That city is currently upgrading the 15 year-old Honda Center (formerly Arrowhead Pond at Anaheim) to make it more desirable for a team looking to relocate.

Add Anaheim (part of a metropolitan area with two NBA franchises already) to the list with Seattle (with existing KeyArena or a new venue), Las Vegas (with a new arena that is yet to be built) and Baltimore (with an unbuilt NBA-sized arena and the Washington Wizards about 40 miles south) that desire an NBA team. 

Does anyone really think a new arena is going to be built anywhere with the U.S. in an economic crisis? I sure don't.

Another NBA Expansion Opinion

MVN.com, or Most Valuable Network, "an independent sports media network", has a story by Bijan Bayne for their Outsider column titled "NBA Expansion & Franchise Movement 2.0-The City Game". 

Bayne's story is a little weak; there is no mention of  Las Vegas as a future NBA site (more on that here) and it takes a reader response to mention the newly vacant city of Seattle as a likely site for a team to relocate or expand to.

More importantly, for this blog anyway, is the statement that Baltimore "lacks a large downtown, or even suburban arena" with no mention of the city's upcoming plans to replace the 1st Mariner Arena with an NBA-ready venue. Statements on Baltimore's job loss and urban flight "since the 1970's" doesn't take into account recent stories (like this one) showing the "slowing of the city's decade-long population loss" or the Raven's dominance on the local sports scene.

"Best Misuse of Taxpayer Funds"

The "New Baltimore Arena" won "Best Misuse of Taxpayer Funds" in the 2008 CityPaper "Best of Baltimore" issue! 

Transit Hub Considered For New Arena

From the September 1st Baltimore Sun, traffic columnist Michael Dresser reports, "... a group of local transit advocates..." have proposed a "Central Maryland Bus Station below the arena itself". This idea makes sense in a lot of ways: light rail, bus lines, and the subway are all close by. A safe 24-hour transit hub is also a great idea. Baltimore isn't a 24-hour city, but this would do wonders for the safety and security of shift workers, as mentioned in the article.

Dresser admits the need to build "underground passageways" to link the arena with the subway line. New York City's Madison Square Garden and DC's Verizon Center take advantage of numerous subway lines. Newark's new Prudential Center was built a block and half (PDF map) from the rail station, however. Will Baltimore take the bold step and integrate the subway into the new arena or will it cheap out and make you walk a block from the existing Charles Center stop?

Field of Schemes' First Take

The great Neil deMause over at fieldofschemes.com posted his first take on the proposed new Baltimore Arena. He has two good links detailing a couple of different scenarios. Neither of them sound great.

Another Pool Push From Dan Rodricks

The Baltimore Sun's Dan Rodricks' continues to push for "the Michael Phelps Aquatic Sports Center in the new downtown arena". From August 19th, here's my take on it. I will agree with Mr. Rodricks questioning the logic of investing in a flood plain.

Another Opinion (from Frederick, MD)

Frederick News Post columnist Elizabeth Marsh Cupino writes an opinion piece about Baltimore's plans to build a new arena.

You Can Probably Forget About Putting A Pool In The New Arena

From today's Baltimore Sun, a rumor that Michael Phelps and his business partners are going to buy the "North Baltimore Aquatic Club's Meadowbrook facility, neighboring ice skating rink and post office..." in the Mount Washington neighborhood. 

Best part of the rumor: buying the post office. Yes, it is small and likely needs to be replaced, but has a new location for it been found? I need to look into that some more.

I always thought Dan Rodrick's idea of putting a pool in the basement of the new Baltimore Arena was an interesting one, but a bit of a stretch realistically. It would just drive up the cost of the building. I'd love for Olympic-caliber swimmers to train (and live and eat and shop) in downtown Baltimore. I just don't know how a training facility like this pays for itself. 

If the pool is in the basement, it would have to be for training purposes only. Otherwise, where do the 10,000+ spectators sit?

Baltimore could still host an Olympic swimming trials without a pool in the basement. Omaha built a temporary pool on the arena floor for the 2008 U.S. trials. It only cost $250,000.

More from Rodricks

Another push for a swimming pool in the basement of the new Baltimore Arena.

Baltimore Sun Op/Ed from Aug. 6, 2008

Dennis Coates penned this Baltimore Sun Op/Ed piece from this past Wednesday. Mr. Coates doesn't put forth an opinion per se, but clearly points out "All the evidence is that stadiums and arenas have little or no effect on the number of jobs or on the level of income in the community." He also suggests "... as you decide how you feel about the project, focus not on the economic development benefits or what Baltimore deserves, but on whether this is the best use of public money..."

Mr. Coates is the president of the North American Association of Sports Economists.