Sports Arena

The Cordish Co. is preparing to demolish the US Airways Arena in Landover to make way for a $150 million retail and entertainment complex, reversing plans that originally called for preserving the 25-year-old building.Cordish and arena owner Abe Pollin made the decision to raze the 19,000-seat venue because design schemes make the existing arena more of an obstacle than an amenity to the new 400,000-square-foot project that they intend to develop.It is expected to cost more than $2 million to demolish the former Capital Centre, which opened in December 1973 as the home of the National Basketball Association's Washington Bullets, although formal estimates to raze the structure have yet to be developed, Cordish officials said.

Device that shocks hearts could save many Maryland livesCardiac arrest kills more than 360,000 people a year in this country. That is one of the reasons why the Maryland General Assembly deserves applause for passing a bill "public access defibrilation" bill that will expand use of advanced technology for treating dying hearts.Defibrillators are devices, often seen on medical shows, that shock the heart of a cardiac arrest victim. Until recently, they have mostly been used in ambulances and emergency rooms.

New arena downtown would not help revive BaltimoreIn their push for a new downtown sports arena, Baltimore City's leaders have shown once again how far removed they are from reality.With all the problems facing the city -- businesses and citizens moving out steadily, more than 300 murders a year, a court system that is crumbling from the inside out, a school system that is a model of failure on every level -- you'd think our leaders would be focusing on seeking effective, innovative solutions to these long-standing problems.

In a move that could help ease the shortage of recreational facilities in northwestern Baltimore County, a local developer said yesterday that ground would be broken this week for a 40,000-square-foot indoor sports arena in the Reisterstown area.The Owings Mills Sports Arena at 12400 Glynowings Drive is scheduled to open Jan. 23 for the second session of indoor winter soccer, developers say.The arena will feature two artificial-turf fields, a sports grill, a video arcade and an office for a sports medicine practitioner.

Cindy Blodgett's passion for basketball began when she was 5 years old, shooting baskets alone outside her house because she wasn't allowed to play in a league with older boys.Seventeen years and two Division I scoring titles later, the Maine senior still has an unadulterated love for the game, but her audience has increased dramatically.When Blodgett steps onto the court at Maine's Alfond Sports Arena -- as she will tomorrow night when the Black Bears play host to Towson University in an America East game -- there's always a near-capacity crowd of over 5,000 fans, many of whom are children sporting Blodgett's No. 14 jersey -- both girls and boys.

US Airways Arena -- best known for pro hockey, hoops and rock concerts -- is being reincarnated as the centerpiece of a $150 million entertainment and retail complex with everything from themed restaurants and upscale shops and megastores to virtual rock climbing and amateur sports.Baltimore-based Cordish Co., developer of the Power Plant entertainment complex at the Inner Harbor, and Abe Pollin, owner of the Landover arena, will announce plans today for the project, to be known by its old name, Capital Centre.

John A. Moag Jr., the head of the Maryland Stadium Authority and the man who engineered the Cleveland Browns' move to Baltimore, has been named by Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc. to lead an investment group catering to the sports industry.Moag, 43, becomes managing director of Legg Mason's professional sports industry group, the Baltimore-based investment house said yesterday.Moag had been a partner and lobbyist based in the Baltimore office of Patton Boggs LLP, a Washington law firm, where he focused on sports-related legal issues and negotiations.

NBA games lost yesterday: 3.Total games missed: 376.Earliest estimated date season can start: Feb. 1.Projected player salary losses (through Feb. 1): $535 million.Negotiations: Five hours of talks yesterday failed to produce an accord. No further talks are scheduled.Today's best canceled game: Toronto at L.A. Clippers. The real NBA die-hards either show up at the Sports Arena or tune their satellite dishes to this gem.Pub Date: 12/28/98

When the ESPN Zone kicks off in Baltimore's Power Plant next month, it will also launch a new yearly event for the Inner Harbor -- an outdoor sports festival for fans and participants alike.This year's event will be captured on videotape and beamed into 75 million homes around the world via a half-hour program on ESPN the following day, promoting Baltimore and the first ESPN Zone entertainment center simultaneously. Dan Patrick, co-anchor of ESPN's nightly "SportsCenter," will be the host.

Ground hasn't been broken on a $7 million indoor sports arena in Pasadena, but already people are squabbling over who will use it.Parents of young athletes rejoiced two weeks ago when the Lake Shore Arena Limited Partnership received preliminary county approval for a hockey and soccer center at the Lake Shore Athletic Complex.But their mood changed when arena officials announced that one recreation group would have first crack at all floor times."We felt that we owed it to the Lake Shore Recreation Council, since they are the ones that are being impacted by the arena," said James Renner, general partner of Lake Shore Investment Group, which will supply the money to build the center.

The proposals for a new Baltimore arena envision a sporting and entertainment venue unlike any in the city: a seven-screen movie theater, a rooftop park, a 1,000-seat concert hall, hotels and, of course, an 18,500-seat sports arena in combination with some or all of the above. But what's missing is any reasonable idea of who's going to pay to build a $300 million-plus complex in this economy, and without that element, the arena proposals remain little more than grand dreams of a re-imagined civic center.

As for the nattering negativists who will surely say this is a dumb idea, that it will never work, that Baltimore will never get this and never get that - well, blah, blah, blah. We've heard it all before. Mr. Grumpy-Gills really should treat himself to the big picture sometime. I know. It's hard. You've grown accustomed to thinking weenie and being cynical. After all, that's part of our national culture, and the condition has long been acute here in Baltimore, where the only thing we've had to "celebrate" lately was the Orioles' win in the World Series - 25 years ago. But, really, the many of you who think small, and who make a hobby of ridiculing Baltimore and taking glee at the city's flaws, you who today think building a big, new arena on the site of our old, dumpy-but-still-bookin'-dates one is a foolish idea - you really need to get out more.

Thousands jammed Nationals Park in Washington yesterday for the first outdoor Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI during his six-day visit to the United States. Above, Sister Leticia M.C. (left) of the Missionaries of Charity in the Bronx, N.Y., and Sister Maria Christine of the Sisters of the Poor in Catonsville watch the activity before the service. The sports arena was redecorated into a sort of sunny cathedral for the occasion.

Many of the city's most prominent developers propose building Baltimore's new indoor sports and concert arena outside of downtown and pairing the facility with ambitious waterfront projects or struggling areas in need of a boost. Ed Hale wants the new arena in Canton, near his growing empire. Patrick Turner suggests Westport, where his $1.4 billion development is under way. Struever Bros. proposes a site north of Penn Station or keeping the current location downtown. Also possible is an 11-acre parcel south of the Orioles and Ravens stadiums, where state lawmakers are considering putting a slots casino.

ST. LOUIS - When they named a University of Missouri sports arena after their daughter, billionaire Wal-Mart heirs Nancy and Bill Laurie pronounced themselves "very proud parents." But this week, they found themselves stripping her name from the building on the Columbia campus - after allegations that she paid a roommate $20,000 to do most of her coursework at the University of Southern California. Elizabeth Paige Laurie, 22, graduated from USC this year. But her first-semester roommate, Elena Martinez, says the Lauries' daughter hired her to write papers, prepare oral reports and even exchange e-mail with professors in nearly every class she took for four years.

A rainstorm with sudden gusts of wind Sunday evening toppled a wall at an Eldersburg sports arena during a soccer game, damaging the roof of an adjoining warehouse and causing a power outage at an elementary school. No injuries were reported. Construction crews yesterday were rebuilding the brick-and-block wall at South Carroll Sports Arena along Progress Way near Route 32. A Carroll County inspector posted an "unsafe" sign at the arena at 10 p.m. Sunday and repair crews cut off utilities yesterday until exposed wires could be replaced.

It's March and you've pretty much had your fill of winter weather and all of the snow, slush, freezing rain and frigid temperatures. It's time to ditch the parka and snow boots, get outside, have fun and be active. Sure, Baltimore has had a few unseasonably warm days lately, but don't be fooled. According to the calendar, it's still winter, people. Spring doesn't officially start for another week and a half, and summer doesn't begin for another three months, so don't pack up the sweaters just yet. So, what's a person to do with a serious case of cabin fever?

Baltimore officials have abruptly called off their search for a private company to run a city-owned sports arena in Canton, but they say they are exploring ways to privatize the facility. The city had issued a request for proposals from companies interested in running the Clarence H. Du Burns Arena, with a deadline of today. But Monday, with one proposal submitted, the city withdrew its request. Officials declined to say who had submitted a proposal. "We did cancel the request for proposals at this time," said Robert Greene, marketing and media director for the Department of Recreation and Parks, which manages the arena.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Six major developers have unveiled competing proposals for redeveloping the Continental Airlines Arena site here, envisioning everything from an automobile racing oval and an indoor skiing center to a convention center with hotels and family entertainment emporiums. With names like "Xanadu," "MeadowFest America" and "Sports City America," the proposals sketched out visions for the 106-acre site far beyond the sports events and concerts held there now. Threaded through with retail space and restaurants, the proposals introduced attractions like a sports arena for skateboarding and rock climbing, virtual reality games, an interactive National Football League Experience, an indoor amphitheater and a Canyon Ranch spa. `Economic engine' The unveiling of the proposals marked an important step in a nearly two-year-long effort to create what Gov. James E. McGreevey called "an economic engine" for the Meadowlands site in Bergen County amid skepticism and some opposition among county residents.

Developers have signed leases with the first group of shops for the Boulevard at the Capital Centre, a "main street" style development to take the place of the old sports arena off the Capital Beltway in Landover. The retailers are Linens N' Things, Pier 1 Imports, Lane Bryant, Men's Wearhouse, Yankee Candle Co., Children's Place, Shoe Dept., Chuck E. Cheese, Oxford Street and Lucaya. The shops announced this week account for about 80,000 square feet of the 400,000 square feet slated for shops and restaurants.