The Maryland Stadium Authority’s new leadership team met Thursday for the first time since being appointed by Gov. Martin O’Malley two weeks ago.
John Morton III, an MSA board member and former Bank of America executive, was selected by O’Malley as the MSA’s new chairman on Nov. 7. Morton succeeds Frederick Puddester, who had been chairman since July 2007 and resigned on Nov. 4. No reason was given for Puddester’s resignation.
“Nothing brings people together with a sense of pride and community like sports events,” Morton said in a statement. “I want to continue to support the teams and events we already enjoy here, and explore additional ways for our citizens to experience the wonderful facilities in our region and our state.”
O’Malley also named Michael Frenz as the MSA’s new executive director. David Raith, the MSA’s chief financial officer, had been serving as interim executive director since Alison Asti was removed from the position more than a year ago.
Frenz currently serves as chief operating officer of federally owned insurer Ginnie Mae in Washington, D.C.
O’Malley recognized Puddester for his accomplishments during his time as MSA chairman.
“Fred worked to resolve some long-standing issues at MSA, including providing a living wage to the day workers at Maryland stadiums and working with the Baltimore Orioles to deliver a new state-of-the-art scoreboard and information system at Camden Yards in time for the 2007 season,” O’Malley said in a statement.
The MSA was created in 1986 to oversee the construction of a new baseball and football stadiums in Baltimore.
