Baltimore Convention Center - Convention Center Hotel and Future of The Convention Center - Proposed Arena-hotel-convention Center Project

Proposed Arena-hotel-convention Center Project

In Fall 2010, a local influential business group, the Greater Baltimore Committee, proposed an estimated $900 million project that would demolish the 1979-wing of the Baltimore Convention Center bounded by Sharp, Pratt, Charles and Conway Streets and the nearby Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel and the attached parking lot and replacing the buildings would be a four-story 760,000 SF convention center expansion, an 18,500 seat arena that will replace Baltimore's existing 1st Mariner Arena over two levels of underground parking, a new 500 room Sheraton hotel and stores and restaurants facing Pratt, Charles and Conway Streets. At the time, the $900 million price tag was the only obstacle with the proposal.

However on May 25, 2011, at the annual meeting for the Greater Baltimore Committee, it was announced that the owner of the Sheraton Inner Harbor hotel, local business and construction magnate, Williard Hackerman made an offer that he would be willing to finance more than half of the proposed $900 million price tag and would be willing to build the hotel and the arena which is estimated to cost $500 million and the remainder, $400 million for the convention center expansion would need to be financed by the State of Maryland and Baltimore City, the offer is contingent on whether the city and state can move the convention center expansion project forward. The offer received a positive reception from both Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley who both have submitted requests to the Maryland Stadium Authority to conduct a feasibility study on the project that is due by the end of 2011.

Visit Baltimore, the architects involved and others have said that this project is unique in that no other cities in the nation would have a combination arena-hotel-convention center the size of the proposed project in Baltimore.

It's currently being argued that if Baltimore does not expand its convention center, the city could "fall off the map as a potential convention choice," especially since the cities with which Baltimore competes with, Washington D.C. (recently built and opened the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and has announced plans to open a 1,175-room Marriott Marquis hotel with 100,000 SF of convention and meeting space in 2013), Philadelphia (recently opened its newly expanded convention center of over 700,000 SF of meeting and convention space), and Nashville (currently building a 1.2 million SF convention center and a convention headquarters hotel currently slated to open in 2013) has or are in the process of expanding its convention and hotel space.

When the 1996 expansion to the Baltimore Convention Center opened, the convention center was ranked 28th largest in the nation in terms of exhibition and meeting space, 15 years later, the convention center plummeted to 73rd largest and as a result, Baltimore is losing convention business. Visit Baltimore reports that the Hilton Baltimore Convention Center Hotel that opened in August 2008 is helping but since the opening of the Hilton, the city has lost over 700,000 hotel-night bookings due to the convention center being too small to meet the needs of a group or the dates the group wanted was not available but expanding the convention center would allow the city to accommodate more than one large meeting or convention at a time. The Greater Baltimore Committee estimates that with the proposed arena-hotel-convention center, Baltimore could accommodate as many as 300 new convention groups that cannot utilize Baltimore currently due to the size of the convention center.

On June 2, 2011, the Baltimore Sun reported that Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Governor Martin O'Malley wants the Maryland Stadium Authority to pay for the estimated $150,000 feasibility study that will determine the "estimate of taxes that the project would generate" and if the study finds the project to be viable, O'Malley and Rawlings-Blake wants "an analysis of potential financing options and a strategy for moving the work forward." The Maryland Stadium Authority is expected to consider the feasibility study request at a June 14th meeting.

On June 14, 2011, the Baltimore Sun reported that the Maryland Stadium Authority unanimously approved the feasibility request with a 7-0 vote however the Maryland Stadium Authority wants the city of Baltimore to pay for part of the $150,000 cost for the feasibility study.

On July 18, 2011, the Baltimore Sun reported that the Baltimore Convention & Tourism Board approved to take $50,000 out of Visit Baltimore's budget to pay for the $150,000 feasibility study that the Maryland Stadium Authority approved on June 14, 2011.

As of October 10, 2011, the Maryland Stadium Authority has posted on its website the feasibility study that was approved on June 14, 2011 for the project that is expected to include "a market and economic study of the convention center expansion and incremental tax benefits for all three venues, and a funding strategy." According to the page that has the study listed, "The study is expected to be complete by winter ." "Baltimore City Conference Center Expansion/Arena/Hotel". http://www.mdstad.com/content/view/105/143/. Retrieved October 10, 2011.

As of April 24, 2012, the project is moving forward, on March 5, 2012, the feasibility report was published and made public jointly by the Maryland Stadium Authority and Baltimore City which strongly makes the recommendation for expanding the Baltimore Convention Center and building a new arena to replace 1st Mariner Arena and that if no action is taken, it will harm Baltimore's tourism industry in the long run, the study found that "Market research indicates that there is a significant demand for additional space at the Convention Center to host more, larger, and simultaneous events." "City and MSA Release Feasibility Study for Proposed Expansion of the Baltimore Convention Center". http://baltimorecity.gov/OfficeoftheMayor/NewsMedia/tabid/66/ID/2567/City_and_MSA_Release_Feasibility_Study_for_Proposed_Expansion_of_the_Baltimore_Convention_Center.aspx. Retrieved April 24, 2012. Also, on April 11, 2012, the Baltimore Business Journal has published an article stating that the Maryland General Assembly in the recently ended 2012 legislative session approved $2.5 million for the convention center project allocated for "initial design $400 million expansion of the convention center (slated to be funded using public money from the State of Maryland and the City of Baltimore), as well as a $500 million, 18,500-seat arena and hotel project (slated to be funded using private funding from a group lead by local business magnate Willard Hackerman)" however the Maryland General Assembly's budget committees added a prerequisite before they will approve the release of the $2.5 million, the prerequisite being that the State of Maryland, the City of Baltimore and the private financiers of the project must submit a memorandum of understanding to the Maryland General Assembly's budget committees with a detailed explanation of how this project would be funded, how much of the $400 million would be shared between the State of Maryland and the City of Baltimore and exactly who would operate the brand new arena. The proponent of this project, Donald Fry, the CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee stated in an interview with the Baltimore Business Journal that the approval of initial design funds by the Maryland General Assembly gives the green light to both the Greater Baltimore Committee and Willard Hackerman to enter into serious negotiations with private investors regarding "naming rights or concession agreements for the arena" and he feels that this is a good sign that the Maryland General Assembly will, in fact, provide even more state funding towards this project in the future stating:

"I think the inclusion of the $2.5 million is a signal that the state sees that there could be reason for significant investment down the road."

Lambert, Jack (April 11, 2012). "Baltimore Convention Center design money gets OK in legislature". http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/blog/real-estate/2012/04/baltimore-convention-center-design.html. Retrieved April 24, 2012.

As of October 22, 2012 according to the Baltimore Sun, Tom Noonan, President and CEO of Visit Baltimore voiced his support of this proposal and the article also mentions the current stage that the project is in currently:

A memorandum of understanding is being drafted so that the Maryland Stadium Authority can continue to study plans for a new arena, hotel and expanded convention center and the project's financing. Its completion will activate $2.5 million set aside by the state to conduct a second phase of the arena study, according to the stadium authority. "The study will help us determine the next steps and the costs," said Kaliope Parthemos, Baltimore's deputy chief of economic and neighborhood development. Donald C. Fry, the head of the Greater Baltimore Committee, said the memorandum's primary parties would be the state, city and Hackerman. The memo outlines the parties' understanding of the building and financial plans, he said. The second part of the study would further examine the feasibility of constructing and paying for the arena and convention center expansion, he said. "We were just looking to see exactly where we are with private-sector dollars," Fry said.

The article also cites that construction for at least a portion of the proposal, construction is "considered unlikely before 2016.""1st Mariner Arena turns 50 amid calls for its replacement. Financing still being sought for replacement arena project". October 22, 2012. http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-arena-at-fifty-20121022,0,4954476,print.story. Retrieved October 23, 2012.