June 01, 2011
I've been a Baltimore resident for 25 years, and reading about businessman Willard Hackerman's offer to finance and build a $500 million arena and hotel if the city and state can come up with the $400 million to expand the convention center sounds like an excellent plan to help Baltimore's economy ("Proposed downtown arena gets private financing commitment," May 25).
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Mr. Hackerman has truly given Baltimore a chance to totally transform into a major city when it comes to tourism and conventions since he will pay for the arena and hotel, which is more than half of the projected total amount of this project. I also totally agree with the points made in The Sun's editorial about the project ("Bold ideas for downtown," May 25).
Hopefully the state sees the benefits of this project and would be willing to split the $400 million costs with the city. One good thing is that Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Gov. Martin O'Malley have both requested from the Maryland Stadium Authority a feasibility study on this project that's due by the end of this year.
I really hope that both the state and the city won't screw this up — especially since city officials for years have been saying they want to replace 1st Mariner Arena and expand the Baltimore Convention Center. This project would do just that, killing two birds with one stone.
Those who might complain about using public money ought to consider the long-term ramifications of this project. The city could attract much larger conventions, which means thousands of people and millions of dollars injected into the local economy. The 18,500-seat arena could benefit both tourists and local residents if we could attract either a NBA or NHL franchise to Baltimore and attract major big-name performers in music.
Here's one example of how a large convention brings in money. Since 1999, Baltimore has been the host city of Otakon, an East Asian culture convention. In its first year, that gathering attracted 4,635 people. Last year, 29,274 people attended Otakon over three days. using the entire space available within the Baltimore Convention Center as well as the next-door Hilton hotel and the 1st Mariner Arena for a day. That makes Otakon the largest convention in Baltimore, with 4,575 booked hotel rooms and an estimated economic impact of $15.3 million in 2010, up from $12.5 million the year before, despite the recession.
By attracting larger conventions of more than 25,000 people, Baltimore would acquire a dependable source of tax revenue — money that's now lost because the facilities are too small. I really hope that the Maryland General Assembly will ultimately approve funds to expand the Baltimore Convention Center so Mr. Hackerman's offer to finance and build the arena and hotel can come to fruition. This needs to be done as soon as possible rather than waiting and losing out on even more convention and tourism business.
KunSun Sweeley, Baltimore
