Baltimore Mayor Asks For Study On Potential DC United Stadium

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon has written a letter to the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA) "asking the agency to study the possibility of building a new soccer stadium" for DC United, according to Ryan Sharrow of the BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL. The letter, dated September 30, asks the MSA to "focus on building the stadium as part of a green mixed-use project with access to light rail," I-95, Baltimore-Washington Parkway and the Camden Yards sports complex. Dixon cites a 42-acre waterfront location in Westport, Maryland, as "meeting those standards." The letter indicates the proposed stadium also "could be used for lacrosse and other events" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/6). In Baltimore, Van Valkenburg & Mirabella note the letter asks the stadium authority to "study the potential benefits of building a 17,000- to 20,000-seat stadium that could serve as United's permanent home." DC United officials have said that they are "looking for a new stadium" to replace RFK Stadium as the team's home, and club officials yesterday said that they "would be interested in seeing the results of a study" (Baltimore SUN, 10/7). Dixon spokesperson Scott Peterson said, "The desire is not to use any public money for the project, but we're going to take things one step at a time" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/7).

LEMME UPGRADE YOU: The MSA yesterday "unanimously approved a plan to borrow" $24M to "pay for renovations and repairs to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, as well as upgrading the video scoreboard and video control room at M&T Bank Stadium." Of that money, $10M will go toward "maintenance and safety upgrades" at Camden Yards, while the ballpark will see another $10M in repairs to the seating bowl. The remaining $4M will help pay for new scoreboards at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens are contributing $6M for the project (Baltimore SUN, 10/7).