By choosing to build a new arena on the west side of downtown, Baltimore is placing a $300 million bet on an area that has long struggled to come to life.
One problem has been 1st Mariner Arena itself, a 46-year-old albatross with only one entrance and no street-level retail outlets - a hulk that stifles the blocks around it. Proponents of a new downtown arena call the project a shot in the arm for the west side, while critics said yesterday that a mega-project is a bad fit for that area.
City officials, outlining their vision, said they want a cutting-edge, pioneering structure that will change the way people look at arenas - just as Oriole Park at Camden Yards created a new mold for ballpark construction. The new arena would have retail space on all four sides, an 18,500-seat venue above that and then, higher still, the potential for housing and offices.
"We have an opportunity to change how arenas are defined," said Deputy Mayor Andrew Frank. "I can see a very vertical building that packs in a mix of uses. The challenge is to activate the site all the time, 365 days a year and 24/7, if we can."
As the west side has revived in recent years, bouncing back from the shuttering of department stores and the destruction of Howard Street by the light rail line, the area has remained isolated from the rest of downtown. And critics say the 5-acre arena site has been a roadblock to progress.
Now city officials and west-side advocates say a new arena - likely to cost up to $300 million, much of it paid for with public money - would link the successful Charles Street area with the west side while attracting tourists from the Inner Harbor.
"It's very important to draw people up from Pratt Street to the rest of the city," said Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership. "If we don't, we will confirm people's misconception that Baltimore is all about the waterfront and nothing else."
Within a month, the city is expected to issue a formal request for proposals. Several top local and national developers, including Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, have expressed interest and are expected to file plans. The downtown site was one of four that Struever Bros. suggested for a new arena.
"What we like is the fact that it's so much a part of the existing urban fabric of Baltimore," said Timothy Pula, senior development director at Struever Bros., referring to the proximity of transit lines, parking and downtown attractions. As more people move to cities and transit gains in ridership, he said, an arena in the heart of Baltimore makes a lot of sense.
