12 replies to this topic

[ScottLewis]

BSL: Royal Farms Arena reboot – Let the Fun Begin

https://baltimorespo...-the-fun-begin/

[Mike B]

Interesting read Scott.

I guess we will have to wait and see what the finished product delivers, but my first thought was are they wasting 150 M?

As a young kid, we went down to the then Baltimore Civic Center, to watch the Bullets and Clippers game, and my earliest memory was the place was not good, even back in its early days.  

The interesting thing to me was the original Civic Center, was supposedly designed to be a sports and entertainment facility.  Many big time acts like the Beatles, Elvis, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys played the Civic Center and one of the complaints was the place had awful acoustics and the talent did not like it.  In addition, the stage made seating difficult for the sporting events.  Hopefully that is accounted for with the new design.

The problems surrounding the place will be hard to fix.  Good luck to them though.

[IanQuillen]

It is definitely interesting to see more arenas going the route of "concert first, sports second" venues, but I do believe it would help to have some sort of primary tenant. 

I know the AHL had lukewarm performances here in previous iterations, but the Capitals have a much larger regional pull than they did the last time the Skipjacks were around, and the population of the city is increasingly skewing younger -- toward folks that watch hockey -- than when the Jacks were last in town.

There's nothing in the way of live sports here for most of that crowd from January-April, and really for all of the baseball offseason if you consider the Ravens cost prohibitive. I have to believe getting an AHL tenant with a Caps affiliation would be a goal of a renovation like this? 

[BSLMikeLowe]

Is there any chance the Blast would relocate back downtown? They are only drawing about half as many fans at Towson.

 

I still don't see how it's worth sinking $150M into the place when the biggest issues to me were the narrow concourses and lack of restrooms/concessions, two things that I doubt can be fixed with a minor facelift.

[Russ]

Interesting read Scott.
I guess we will have to wait and see what the finished product delivers, but my first thought was are they wasting 150 M?
As a young kid, we went down to the then Baltimore Civic Center, to watch the Bullets and Clippers game, and my earliest memory was the place was not good, even back in its early days.
The interesting thing to me was the original Civic Center, was supposedly designed to be a sports and entertainment facility. Many big time acts like the Beatles, Elvis, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys played the Civic Center and one of the complaints was the place had awful acoustics and the talent did not like it. In addition, the stage made seating difficult for the sporting events. Hopefully that is accounted for with the new design.
The problems surrounding the place will be hard to fix. Good luck to them though.

I’ve seen a lot of shows there and the acoustics have been really good. I think they’ve fixed that part.

[mweb08]

I know the skepticism is high among several here, but this was a good read nonetheless.

 

Will a Reborn Former Civic Center Finally Make Baltimore a Major Tour Stop? (baltimoremagazine.com)

[BSLChrisStoner]

I know the skepticism is high among several here, but this was a good read nonetheless.

 

Will a Reborn Former Civic Center Finally Make Baltimore a Major Tour Stop? (baltimoremagazine.com)

 

It's a good thing which is happening.  It might not have been my first choice, but it beat the alternative of doing nothing. Private investment was great, and being able to renovate the existing spot was ideal. 

Live cam of the renovations: 

 

https://app.oxblue.c.../baltimorearena

[BSLChrisStoner]

South Bmore.com:  Photo Tour of Renovations

https://www.southbmo...cfg-bank-arena/

[NewMarketSean]

Photos look great. Hard to believe that it's the same building. That said, I wish they would have removed the 90 degree angles in the bowl and made it more of an oval. Those seats in the corner cause someone to have their head turned toward the stage.

[mweb08]

Looks good other than the jumbotron seems like it might still be the same, problem being it wasn't very jumbo and the picture sucked.

[mweb08]

My parents in law went to see the Eagles last night and they said that Don Henley was raving about how good the arena is for music.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Have heard a lot of similar comments.

[NewMarketSean]

I was there last night. Arena looks great, the upgrades make a big difference (more vendors, upgraded seats) but bathrooms are still on every other floor.