There’s no getting around it — with the construction of a new arena on the site of 1st Mariner Arena in downtown Baltimore, Charm City will be without a large entertainment venue for at least two years.
No Jay-Z or the Jonas Brothers, no Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, no World Wrestling Entertainment events while the new arena is built.
“It’s a risk,” said M.J. “Jay” Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp. and chair of the Arena Advisory Panel, which recommended a new arena at 1st Mariner’s site over at least seven other city locations.
“It’s a risk, and everyone involved understands the risk,” Brodie said.
The risk for Baltimore City officials could benefit the area’s surrounding entertainment venues, said Seth Hurwitz, chairman of IMP Productions, which owns Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia.
“The acts will find somewhere else to play [during the arena’s construction phase],” Hurwitz said. “Other venues will absolutely benefit from that.”
While the city will be missing a venue with a capacity of 14,000 for two to three years, there’s no shortage of venue options for acts and concertgoers in the Baltimore area.
On the larger end, there’s Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Va., with a capacity of 25,000 about 75 miles from Baltimore.
Already this year, Nissan has hosted acts including Kanye West and Dave Matthews Band, and it will host Maroon 5 in August. While those headliners have bypassed 1st Mariner in recent years, city officials hope a new 18,500-seat facility will attract those high-level acts to Baltimore.
Closer to home, Baltimore-area residents can check out acts at the 15,000-seat Merriweather Post, the 5,000-seat Towson Center and the 4,200-seat Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore. There’s also Rams Head Live, with capacity of 2,000, in Baltimore.
Merriweather has brought in acts including Sheryl Crow and John Mayer, while Hootie and the Blowfish and Billy Idol will play Pier Six in August.
Other smaller venues, such as Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis, Ottobar and Sonar Nightclub in Baltimore and Recher Theatre in Towson, offer many options for music fans.
A new arena, while it may take a few years to build, will benefit Baltimore in the long run, Hurwitz said.
Consumers develop spending habits and could take some time to buy back into large-scale arena events in Baltimore, said Stephen Walters, an economics professor at Loyola College.
“New buildings are always attractive once they open — there’s a honeymoon period,” Walters said. “It’s going to take some time for people to rediscover these attractions.”
AREA TICKET SALES
- In the first seven months of 2008, 41 percent more Baltimore concert tickets have been sold on StubHub.com than in the same period in 2007.
- Ticket sales for Baltimore concerts have increased 93 percent in the first seven months of 2008 from the first seven months of 2007.
Source: StubHub sales data
