City and state officials today selected the current site of 1st Mariner Arena in downtown Baltimore as the best location for a new 18,500-seat city arena, according to a source close to the planning process.
The Baltimore Development Corp. today is expected to announce plans to build a new arena to replace the 46-year-old facility. 1st Mariner has seating capacities ranging from 11,000 to 14,000.
The source said the proposed larger arena would continue to host mainly concerts and family shows, rather than draw a professional sports team to Baltimore.
The BDC in November received nine proposals for a new city arena, at sites including from Canton, Westport and the stadium complex.
The decision to replace 1st Mariner with an 18,500-seat facility comes about a year after a consultant firm suggested the city build a 15,000-to-16,000-seat in Baltimore to accomodate concerts and family shows.
