New Arena Bids Are In!

The Baltimore Development Corp. issued a press release yesterday announcing it has reviewed the submitted proposals for the new Baltimore arena and "invited four finalists for interviews."

More from the Baltimore Business Journal and the Baltimore Sun. 

More comments, and hopefully, some links to artist's renderings later.

Baltimore's Arena Football Team Doesn't Cancel Season

On December 12th, the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA) announced it was not canceling the upcoming season. This follows the news that the better-known, 22 year-old (!) Arena Football League (AFL) decided they will cancel their 2009 season. Read about it at ProFootballTalk.com, PennLive.com or The Los Angeles Business Journal.

The Baltimore Mariners return to the 1st Mariner Arena Sunday, March 15, 2009.

Lecture Today!

"New Arena, Old Location!", part of the Baltimore Architecture Foundation's Fall Forums, will be held today from 12 Noon to 1 PM. The location is the Berman Auditorium at the Johns Hopkins Downtown Center, located at Charles and Fayette Streets. Bring your lunch.

Reminder: Lecture This Week!

A reminder from the Baltimore Architecture Foundation: the next installment of their Fall Forum series, "New Arena, Old Location!" (hosted by Kimberly A. Clark) is this Wednesday from 12 Noon to 1 PM. It is being held at the Berman Auditorium of the Johns Hopkins Downtown Center located at Charles and Fayette Streets.

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.

Economic Crisis Threatens New Arena

Is it time to take odds on when (or if) a new Baltimore arena gets built?

The Baltimore Sun's Childs Walker reports today on how the current economic crisis is having an impact on the business of major league sports in this country. This past Friday's Baltimore Business Journal had a story (subscription req'd) about how potential arena developers have funding concerns.

In other news, chocolate milk is brown, things get cold in the refrigerator and my cat's breath smells like cat food.

Lecture Tonight!

Baltimore Architecture Week starts today and runs through Sunday, Oct. 26th (shouldn't it be Baltimore Architecture Week and a Half?) Tonight's lecture, "West Side and Arena Metamorphosis" features Klaus Philipsen and Matthew Fitzsimmons discussing the future arena site and its relationship with the West Side Strategic Plan. 6 PM at The Johns Hopkins University Downtown Center (10 N. Charles St.). Free.