1st Mariner Arena

Rihanna postponed her 1st Mariner Arena concert scheduled for Tuesday night due to the flu and laryngitis, Live Nation announced today. Baltimore fans are instructed to keep their tickets, as a rescheduled date will be announced at a later date. Rihanna canceled Sunday's Boston date of her Diamonds World Tour because of sickness as well. She plans to perform again Thursday in Philadelphia, according to Live Nation. #sigshell { padding: 10px; float: left; width: 320px; height: 52px; margin: 20px 0px; display: block; }

1st Mariner Arena will host the second Baltimore Hockey Classic next fall when the Washington Capitals play the Boston Bruins in an NHL preseason game on Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. "The Bruins coming to town makes this a special event," said Frank Remesch, general manager of 1 s t Mariner Arena. "That same night, the Orioles play the Red Sox, which adds to the spice. People can root against Boston twice. " Two years ago, in the first Baltimore Hockey Classic, the Capitals lost, 2-0 to the Nashville Predators before an announced crowd of 11,082.

Rihanna, who postponed her Baltimore concert scheduled for March 12 due to illness, will now perform at 1st Mariner Arena on April 24, Live Nation announced this morning. Tickets for the March show will be honored at the door. Tickets are still on sale at ticketmaster.com . If you missed it, earlier this month I wrote a story/essay on Rihanna and why she's unlike any other pop star today. #sigshell { padding: 10px; float: left; width: 320px; height: 52px; margin: 20px 0px; display: block; }

A little more than a month after postponing her Diamond World Tour concert in Baltimore, Rihanna delivered a stellar performance last night at 1st Mariner Arena. The rescheduled performance appeared to have little effect on her screaming fans. The pop princess pulled out all the stops, performing hit after hit. She started with a very dramatic opening scene, where she appeared to be kneeling in a black cloak. She launched into "Mother Mary," "Phresh off the Runway" and "Birthday Cake.

Chris Brown performed Wednesday night at 1st Mariner Arena as part of his F.A.M.E. tour. Frequent Midnight Sun contributor Jeremy Trucker has this review: Before seeing Wednesday night's F.A.M.E. tour at 1st Mariner Arena, I wasn't convinced Chris Brown's talent was special enough to warrant his continued, well, fame.  After seeing the mediocre show, I remain unconvinced.  Brown has charisma and he can dance, though I'm not prepared to say he can sing live.  But there are lots of charismatic kids out there who can dance and lipsync and auto-tune.  Kevin Federline can dance, for instance, and network programming is 93% Simon Cowell-produced singing competitions.   In fact, I'd venture a guess that Cowell and his record company fat cats could find plenty of kids in Baltimore alone with the charisma and talent to match a Chris Brown.   Though the upper level was closed at Wednesday's show, Brown still has fans, mostly young women, who show up and pay good money to swoon over his slow jams and bop around to his pop hits.  As long as that is true, there will always be songwriters (30 plus in  thirty-some "F.A.M.E.

Van Halen is extending its national tour and will perform at 1st Mariner Arena this summer. The band's show has been set for July 15, promoter Live Nation announced Tuesday morning. The show is a huge coup for 1st Mariner, which had badly wanted the band to play the venue on the first leg of the tour but which, in a recurring pattern , lost out to the larger, newer Verizon Center in Washington. It appears the show will be the band's first in the city since 2008.

Frank Remesch's mission was clear, if daunting. Somehow, he had to convince people that the hulking, cavernous 1st Mariner Arena , a 1960s relic that civic leaders had been talking about razing for years, was still a player — could still attract big-time concerts to Baltimore. Tough job. But then he had a flash. Maybe the World's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band could help? They were in the middle of their 2006 American tour; they'd even played the arena twice before, back in the days when it was still called the Civic Center.

Three men were stabbed near 1st Mariner Arena late Friday night after an argument between two groups escalated into a physical altercation, according to a Baltimore Police spokesman. Officers responded to the scene in the 200 block of W. Baltimore St. at 11:15 p.m. to find three victims who were stabbed, police said. Two men, ages 19 and 20, were transported to a local hospital for treatment, while a third victim refused medical treatment at the scene, according to police.

Earlier this week, rapper Dr. Dre told TMZ he's rooting for the Ravens in the Super Bowl. We've gotten word on some more musicians showing love for the Ravens Nation. Country star Miranda Lambert sported a Ray Lewis jersey on stage during her concert at 1st Mariner Arena on Thursday. Opening acts Thomas Rhett and Dierks Bentley showed off their purple pride, too. Rhett wore a Ray Rice jersey, and Bentley wore a Joe Flacco one.  

A little more than a month after postponing her Diamond World Tour concert in Baltimore, Rihanna delivered a stellar performance last night at 1st Mariner Arena. The rescheduled performance appeared to have little effect on her screaming fans. The pop princess pulled out all the stops, performing hit after hit. She started with a very dramatic opening scene, where she appeared to be kneeling in a black cloak. She launched into "Mother Mary," "Phresh off the Runway" and "Birthday Cake.

Eight years ago, Barry Manilow was shocked to hear that a friend's daughter was futilely searching for a saxophone. The student wanted to try something new, but her school didn't have the instrument. Manilow, the veteran singer and composer with more than 80 million records sold worldwide, was dumbfounded. But after surveying the country's school-funding issues as a whole, Manilow soon realized his friend's daughter shared the same problem with kids across the country. The issue resonated with him. "I went to a dump of a high school in Brooklyn, [N.Y.]

For years, mixed martial art has been a man's world. But 2013 is shaping up to be the year women take the spotlight. Ronda Rousey beat Liz Carmouche in February, during Ultimate Fighting Championship's first female bout. And this weekend, Shogun Fights VIII will host the first female professional mixed martial arts fight in Maryland. On Saturday, Rosanna Garcia and Gabrielle Holloway will face off at Baltimore's 1st Mariner Arena , as the co-main event on the card - an event that could open doors for women in the sport and ultimately allow for more female professional fights locally.

A number of downtown city streets will be temporarily closed mid-day Wednesday to accommodate the circus elephant walk from 1st Mariner Arena to Lexington Market. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus elephants will leave 1st Mariner Arena at 11:45 a.m. and lumber north along Hopkins Plaza, west on Fayette Street and north on Eutaw Street to the Lexington Market parking lot. At 12:30 p.m., the procession will follow the same route back to the arena. In addition to temporary closures, Eutaw Street will be closed to through traffic from Fayette Street to Saratoga Street between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., with detours and parking restrictions in effect.

UPDATE (March 28): Meaghan McCracken, 1st Mariner Arena's public relations manager, confirmed today that Lil Wayne's "America's Most Wanted" tour will take stop at the arena on July 17. The presale for CITI Card members begins Wednesday at 10 a.m. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday at 10 a.m. --------------- Posted March 25: Lil Wayne will bring his "America's Most Wanted" tour to Baltimore's 1st Mariner Arena...

Rihanna, who postponed her Baltimore concert scheduled for March 12 due to illness, will now perform at 1st Mariner Arena on April 24, Live Nation announced this morning. Tickets for the March show will be honored at the door. Tickets are still on sale at ticketmaster.com . If you missed it, earlier this month I wrote a story/essay on Rihanna and why she's unlike any other pop star today. #sigshell { padding: 10px; float: left; width: 320px; height: 52px; margin: 20px 0px; display: block; }

It took a half Saturday night for the Blast to play the top-notch style of indoor soccer it had displayed throughout the 2012-13 Major Indoor Soccer League season, but it was worth the wait for the home team. Overcoming a shaky start, the Blast relentlessly attacked the goal against the Missouri Comets to overcome a halftime deficit in the second game of the MISL Championship Series. After Adriano Dos Santos scored in the fourth quarter and rookie Lucas Roque followed shortly after with another goal, the Blast was able to confront the Comets' final stand with its signature defense to come away with an 8-6 win and a two-game sweep in front of an announced 8,704 at 1st Mariner Arena . "They've been tremendous all season long, only five losses, and a couple of those we probably could have won," coach Danny Kelly said.

1st Mariner Arena, which turns 50 next year, was unharmed after today's earthquake. Building inspectors toured the facility after the earthquake and found only a few cracks on the walls. "The building's infrastructure is in solid shape," said spokeswoman Jamie Curtis. Only Cirque du Soleil experienced a glitch as a result of the tremors. The circus was setting up for Wednesday, the first of five nights at the arena, and had to temporarily pause the installation for the building to be evacuated, like most everywhere downtown.  The circus's engineers also toured the venue after the earthquake and found scant damage.

1st Mariner Arena is the top arena of its size in the U.S., according to industry publications Billboard Magazine and Venues Today. After a star-studded year including performances from Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce and Jay-Z, the aging venue took the No. 1 spot for arenas with capacities from 10,001 to 15,000. The results were based on the number of tickets sold and gross revenue, according to Frank Remesch, 1st Mariner's general manager. "We had a heck of a run this year," Remesch said.

Led by Tony Donatelli's hat trick, the Blast earned a victory Thursday night over the Missouri Comets in Game 1 of the MISL championship series. Ptah Myers, Adauto Neto and Machel Millwood added two goals each for the Blast, and goalkeeper William Vanzela recorded 18 saves. Game 2 is set for Saturday night at 1st Mariner Arena , with a deciding mini-game to be played immediately after regulation, if needed. The Comets are no strangers to an opening loss, having rallied in the semifinals to beat the Milwaukee Wave in Game 2 and the mini-game.

Edwin F. Hale Sr., the Baltimore developer and former CEO of First Mariner Bancorp, filed a $5 million lawsuit Monday against the operators of 1st Mariner Arena , alleging they are improperly using billboards that belong to him. Filed in Baltimore County Circuit Court, Hale's suit names as defendants arena operator SMG Holdings of West Conshohocken, Pa., and the advertising firm that replaced him at the arena, Legends Sales and Marketing of...