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."