Economic Impact

Profits and losses have yet to be counted. But among the businesses that had hoped to capitalize on the crowds at the first Baltimore Grand Prix, it's clear that there have been winners and losers. Room bookings exceeded the expectations of some hoteliers, but left others disappointed. Business was brisk at some restaurants and bars, but the crowds bypassed others. The three-day event drew larger-than-usual crowds to downtown Baltimore on the ordinarily sleepy Labor Day weekend, but concerns about congestion seemed to chase some people away from the city.

Baltimore's weeklong Star-Spangled Sailabration in June drew more than 1.5 million people — some 435,000 from out of state — and had an estimated $166 million in economic impact on the metro area, according to a study released Thursday by the event organizers. The estimate includes about $98 million in spending by visitors, vendors and sponsors from outside the region, with the rest coming from the indirect effect of that "fresh" money cycling through the local economy. "This was spectacular in size," said Candace Campbell, senior project director at Forward Analytics, which prepared the report for the nonprofit Star-Spangled 200 Inc. "One of our survey questions was, 'Is Sailabration the main reason you're in the area?

Baltimore officially kicked off its cruise season yesterday with the Crown Dynasty's departure for Bermuda, launching a year that will more than double the 1999 sailings from the port of Baltimore. "Baltimore is becoming a destination," said Harriett Sagel, manager of tourism development for the Maryland Port Administration. "We're very excited." There will be 21 cruises out of Baltimore this year, compared with 10 last year, Sagel said. Those cruises are expected to generate an economic impact of $8 million for the city and state, according to estimates by the port administration.

State officials are looking for a site to build a first-class venue for national and international equestrian events, a place they envision as a major tourist destination for horse lovers. The Maryland Horse Park would sit on at least 500 acres. The complex would include a 5,000-seat arena, an outdoor amphitheater for competitions, up to 1,200 horse stalls, even a museum celebrating the history and traditions of horses in the state and perhaps a retirement home for famous racehorses. "Essentially it's a Disneyland for horses," said Rob Burk, executive director of the Maryland Horse Industry Board, part of the Department of Agriculture.

HABITAT FOR Humanity is one of the quintessential feel-good nonprofit groups. After all, few things are more basic than providing shelter to those who need it. Even former President Jimmy Carter has made working with Habitat one of his principal volunteer activities. Mike Mitchell isn't interested in erasing that image, just adding to it. Mitchell is the executive director of Chesapeake Habitat for Humanity, a group whose activities theoretically encompass Baltimore and Baltimore County but practically have been concentrated to date in the modest-to-struggling Northeast neighborhoods of Waverly, Better Waverly and Pen Lucy.

ECONOMIC IMPACT They start pouring in at 5:30 in the evening, eager for a beer, a burger and a seat in view of the glowing stadium across the street. Max's Taphouse is booming. It must be game night at Oriole Park. Baseball is the lifeblood of the West Pratt Street bar in the shadow of Camden Yards. Owner Ron Furman figures the sport accounts for 70 percent of his business there. "We need another major league team like we need a hole in the head," he said. Economists debate whether stadiums are truly economic engines.

The Ravens and Redskins will host playoff games Sunday, about 30 miles and 31/2 hours apart. Hosting two of the NFL's four playoff games in Maryland offers something of an economic double shot for the state. The games bring an increase in local taxes, a significant boost to the host teams' bottom lines and could have a combined economic impact of about $20 million to more than $40 million. But economists say most of the money being spent in Baltimore and Landover this weekend would have been spent in the area anyway.

The Baltimore Development Corp., the city's economic development agency, is looking for an outside consultant to provide an analysis of the city's "economic development landscape," according to a request for applications issued Tuesday. The consultant is being asked to assess the city's "existing economic conditions, obstacles, opportunities for expansion, and strengths," as well as identify "priorities and options to move the City's economy forward" and figure out a way "to track the success of new initiatives in terms of job growth, investment, and economic impact," according to the request for proposals.

Acknowledging that its method of calculating the economic impact of the Baltimore Convention Center overstated that impact, the state has adjusted its formula to provide a range of estimates. Now, instead of offering a single estimate, the Maryland Department of Budget and Management is reporting that the convention center's economic impact was between $227 million and $565 million in the 2002 fiscal year. For years, the state has boasted of huge economic benefits generated by the convention center.

Attendance at the National Aquarium this year is expected to tick up a little more than 1 percent to 1.33 million, but remains significantly below levels experienced several years ago before the recession. Still, an economic impact report to be released Wednesday found that many of the visitors to the Inner Harbor attraction come from out of state, spend a good deal of money in the region and cite the aquarium as the reason they came. The study, conducted by Sage Policy Group, estimates that the aquarium is responsible for an economic impact of nearly $320 million in the Baltimore and Washington region, providing an underpinning for more than 3,300 jobs.