If there was an owner?s box, that?s where he?d sit. But at the aging 1st Mariner Arena, Ed Hale takes a seat in the lower bowl near midfield to watch his Baltimore Blast open the Major Indoor Soccer League season against Philadelphia on Friday.
Hale?s a native Baltimorean whose multi-million dollar business empire gave him the means to acquire one of the country?s premier indoor soccer franchises and the naming rights to the venue in which it plays. But on this night, Hale, 55, isn?t attending the game as the team?s owner or as the chairman and chief owner of 1st Mariner Bank.
He attended the game as a fan, one of 10,115 who watched the Blast open the season with a convincing, 8-2 victory over the KiXX.
And he knows soccer almost as well as he knows banking ? just take a seat next to him. I did.
He?ll point out that Blast forward Matt Watson is the fastest player in the league, and KiXX veteran goalie Peter Pappas is the best at his position. And then there?s Jonathan Steele, who signed with the KiXX after being released by the Blast last year. He?s got a weak right foot, Hale said.
Dressed in blue jeans and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, Hale pumps his fist when rookie forward Michael Todd scores the first goal of the season ? before explaining to his business partners seated around him the Blast selected Todd in the first round because he could do just that: score.
But as Hale sat in the decrepit building watching his team run around on the green artificial turf, he envisioned spending future seasons sitting in an owner?s box in a state-of-the-art arena he feels will revitalize Baltimore.
Hale is one of four private investors hoping to help fund a new downtown arena. Hale?s proposal would bring a new facility to Canton, near the Blast headquarters and Hale?s 1st Mariner Bank offices just off Boston Street.
Other proposals are said to include sites in Westport ? just south of I-95 near the Camden Yards complex ? or for the city to tear down 1st Mariner Arena and rebuild it, which may be the best option, according to a feasibility study released by the Maryland Stadium Authority in May.
But it?s not for Hale. He claims if the arena is destroyed, the Blast will “go out of business,” since it would have no home venue for up to three years. On Friday, the Blast nearly sold out the building.
The Blast and SMG Management, which operate the arena, are making the 44-year old building useful until its future is determined. But as the MISL heads toward uncharted territory ? the league envisions expanding to 20 teamsin addition to its recently signed television deal with Fox Soccer Net ? the Blast is in limbo.
Hale calls himself the “old man” in the league, having owned the Baltimore entry since 1998, after also owning the team from 1989-1992.
He’s won three championships in the past five years, and boasts the most successful pro sports franchise in town.
Now, all he wants is a new arena in Canton, one that would seat between 15,000 to 20,000. He?ll pay for it, too.
Just imagine:
Baltimore hosting major concerts.
Baltimore hosting NCAA tournament games.
Baltimore hosting national events and the millions they pump into the economy.
Baltimore finally giving its soccer team a legitimate arena to call home.
So give the guy what he wants because he?s giving the city what it needs.
Sean Welsh covers soccer, the Orioles, local colleges and high school sports for the Examiner. He can be reached at [email protected]
