Ed Hale will be the last of seven interested developers to appear before a city panel to discuss plans for a new arena for Baltimore, moving the project another step closer to completion.
Hale, chief executive officer of 1st Mariner Bank, said he is scheduled to appear before the Arena Advisory Panel this week or next week to share his vision of a major arena located at his Canton Crossing development in East Baltimore. He said the six other developers have already done so, but he was delayed due to a pending real estate deal.
The size of the arena and other specifics would depend on which developer is involved and the amount of funds generated for the facility, Hale said.
“It comes down to money,” Hale said. “If we can afford to do an 18,000- to 20,000-seat arena between the public and private sector. Because if you do a 12,000 to 15,000 [seat arena] it?s going to exclude the possibility of ever doing an NBA or NHL team. Without the NHL or NBA, I don?t know that we could support something of that [bigger] size.”
The estimated cost of construction of a new arena would be $128 million to $160 million in 2007 dollars, according to an arena feasibility study completed this year by the Maryland Stadium Authority. Proposals have included 11 possible locations throughout the city, including the current 1st Mariner site.
Hale said the loss of the existing arena during construction of the new one would kill the Baltimore Blast as well as throwing off much of the other arena events that are planned years in advance.
The existing site was among those favored by Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, according to Janet Marie Smith, vice president of planning and development for the firm.
Other options presented by Struever Bros. included a site near Penn Station to build off the existing arts community and another at Port Covington, making construction easier due to its more open access to equipment.
