As for the nattering negativists who will surely say this is a dumb idea, that it will never work, that Baltimore will never get this and never get that - well, blah, blah, blah. We've heard it all before. Mr. Grumpy-Gills really should treat himself to the big picture sometime. I know. It's hard. You've grown accustomed to thinking weenie and being cynical. After all, that's part of our national culture, and the condition has long been acute here in Baltimore, where the only thing we've had to "celebrate" lately was the Orioles' win in the World Series - 25 years ago.
But, really, the many of you who think small, and who make a hobby of ridiculing Baltimore and taking glee at the city's flaws, you who today think building a big, new arena on the site of our old, dumpy-but-still-bookin'-dates one is a foolish idea - you really need to get out more.
Seriously, the city has changed and is continuing to change. News flash: It's getting better. You should swear off blog entries, power down your PCs and get out of your basements for a day. Take a walk downtown.
It's not hard to imagine, in the midst of all the activity already there, Baltimore with a new sports arena, a couple of blocks from Camden Yards and the baseball park that's still the envy of the nation. Imagine a festival atmosphere all through downtown, from Canton to Inner Harbor East to the Inner Harbor to the west side, up to Lexington Market, and across MLK Boulevard. Imagine the streets filled night and day with people, and an architecturally exciting, solar-powered arena, right on the light rail line - and near a new cross-town Red Line - painted in amazing colors and light.
Go ahead. It won't kill you to think big for a change. Don't worry about the parking. They'll figure out the parking. I used to think the new arena belonged out by the interstate, in fabulous Haleville, on the outer edge of Canton. But downtown, along the public transit lines, is where an arena for the next 100 years belongs, in the heart of the city - not isolated in a place that makes it convenient for thousands of people in cars, trucks and SUVs.
Obviously, a new arena is not the city's most pressing need - getting more kids to graduate from high school is. But a new arena is symbolically huge. It expresses great hope for the future. It says we're truly a big-league town.
