Baltimore Arena

HERSHEY, Pa. -- The Bandits couldn't have asked for a better scenario in their opening American Hockey League playoff game against the Hershey Bears last night.You want a hot goaltender? Mike O'Neill was that.You want the guys who are supposed to score goals scoring goals? Coming right up.You want an excellent effort out of a depleted defensive corps? Right on.Baltimore took advantage of all of the above in a 5-2 victory before 2,874 in Hersheypark Arena.Mike Maneluk, Steve King (twice), Jim Campbell and defenseman Bobby Marshall scored the goals as Baltimore won the opener of the best-of-five series and continued its excellent play on the road.

The Greater Baltimore Committee is pursuing the construction of a new Baltimore Arena despite last month's demise of the Washington-Baltimore 2012 Olympics bid and the absence of a major league basketball or hockey team. "From the beginning, we've assumed a new arena needed to be built in Baltimore regardless of the Olympics," said Donald P. Hutchinson, president of the GBC, Baltimore's largest business organization that deals with public policy. "Winning the Olympics would have made everyone's decision easy.

CITY OFFICIALS are still searching for a site to replace the less-than-adequate Baltimore Arena downtown. Three locations are under active consideration: the existing site at Howard and Baltimore streets, two options near the new Ravens football stadium and the AlliedSignal reclamation area in Fells Point.All of these alternatives have problems. Nevertheless, the city is about to advertise for a consultant to help in the planning of a $200 million arena that could have seating for up to 20,000 people.

The soft, poetic lyrics of Bob Dylan have been heard here, as have the high-decibel guitar riffs of such groups as Rage Against the Machine. Tennis players Pam Shriver and Anna Kournikova have smacked forehand winners, and WWF wrestlers The Rock and Mankind have whacked foreheads inside these walls. Yesterday, it was someone else's turn. About 300 kids gathered at the Baltimore Arena as part of the Camp BaltiMorArena Behind the Scenes one-day summer camp, meant to give them a chance to not only walk where the stars have walked, but to learn to kick, shoot, swing and even dance like them.

If No. 5 Maryland went to a go-go last Saturday, tonight it goes to a slow dance.One week after the exhilaration of a visit to Rupp Arena and disappointment of a 103-91 loss to Kentucky, the Terps will encounter a polar opposite in college basketball fashion. As fast as the Wildcats pushed the pace, that's how deliberate Princeton wants to be at the Baltimore Arena (9: 30 p.m., ESPN)."Nobody wants to play Princeton," Maryland point guard Terrell Stokes said. "They run the shot clock down for 30 seconds, shoot with five seconds to go. If they get an offensive rebound, they run off another 30 seconds, and that's a minute in the game.

Life is an event. Life is a ball. An Army-Navy gala here, a WWF Smackdown there, the Pope then, Paul Simon now, monster truck shows this week, Disney shows next week, the NCAA tournament, baseball's All-Star game, Ric Flair in the flesh, Scott Hamilton on the ice, and the circus, never forget the circus - or Faith Hill. Edie Brown is an event. She's a ball. At 67, the publicity maven of the fabulous Baltimore Arena is shaving her work week by two-thirds. After 22 years of having a hand in countless Baltimore affairs, Brown is semi-retiring from her head PR post, which, in her world, is not synonymous with "slowing down."

For a decade, 1st Mariner's name adorned the Baltimore arena, but now the bank's parent company says it does not plan to bid for naming rights that expired last year. The bank's parent company has talked about the price for naming rights with Legends Sales and Marketing, a New York-based company hired by arena manager SMG Holdings to manage the sale. "We talked some numbers. We weren't close to what they're suggesting," said Dennis Finnegan, executive vice president of retail banking at First Mariner Bancorp.

What: Signet Bank Tennis Challenge, presented by The Baltimore Sun.Where: Baltimore Arena.Who: Mary Pierce vs. Arantxa Sanchez Vicario; Pam Shriver and Ilie Nastase vs. Tracy Austin and Johan Kriek; and the final match will be a mixed-doubles set featuring two Orioles greats.When: 7p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 25.Tickets: Can be purchased at the Baltimore Arena box office and all TicketMaster outlets, including Hechts. To charge tickets call (410) 481-SEAT or VIP seats are available by calling the event office at (410)

The correct telephone number to inquire about the Walt Disney's World on Ice show at the Baltimore Arena is 481-SEAT. Friday's Around the Inner Harbor column reported the number incorrectly.The Sun regrets the error.

In an article in yesterday's Maryland section, a sports tenant of the Baltimore Arena was incorrectly identified. In fact, the arena is home to an indoor soccer team.The Sun regrets the error.Pub Date: 12/13/97