A doubleheader featuring four of the top college men?s lacrosse teams in the country is set to take place March 3 at M&T Bank Stadium, one of a number of high-profile sporting events set to come to Baltimore in the near future.
Camden Yards Sports and Entertainment Commission President Greg Smith said a deal is close to being finalized where Johns Hopkins would face Princeton and Syracuse would play Virginia in a doubleheader sponsored by Inside Lacrosse magazine.
Smith also confirmed that the Army-Navy and Navy-Notre Dame football games will once again be played in Baltimore in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Smith added that the NCAA men?s lacrosse championship weekend returns to Charm City next spring, with hopes of winning the bid for either the 2009 or 2010 championships. There is also hope of hosting some sort of high-profile international soccer game at the Camden Yards complex in the next two to three years.
Smith said that such events are great not only for sporting fans, but for the local economy. A Navy-Notre Dame game could generate $10 million for the local economy, Smith said. This is just half of what Army-Navy football or the NCAA lacrosse championships are expected to generate since those events are spread out over a number of days, giving visitors more time in Baltimore.
“We?re trying to look at a weekend experience where visitors can get a complete taste of what Baltimore has to offer without having to get in their car,” Smith said. “We want them to stay in local hotels, eat at area restaurants and visit all of the great attractions located downtown.”
Commission member Wayne Edwards, who recently retired as Towson University?s athletic director, said events like these could just be the start of great things to come for local sports fans. He said he believes that having a body like the commission will make it easier to get deals in place for high-profile events.
The Maryland Stadium Authority created the commission to look into alternative uses for M&T Bank Stadium and Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
“We?re very much in the beginning stages with our work on the commission,” Edwards said. “This group gives the area a point of reference for people interested in bringing sporting events and concerts to the Baltimore area.”
