Former Baltimore Grand Prix Organizer Dissolving Without Repaying Investors

A lawyer for Baltimore Racing Development LLC said yesterday that the company "plans to dissolve and has informed some investors by email that the company likely won't be able to pay them back," according to Luke Broadwater of the Baltimore SUN. Steven D. Silverman said that his law firm, Silverman Thompson Slutkin & White, has been "hired to advise Baltimore Racing Development how to best end its existence." The company has "no employees" and "no business prospects." Silverman said that no decision "has been made about whether Baltimore Racing Development will file for bankruptcy protection." Financial documents indicated that BRD "still owns about $600,000 in assets used to run the race, such as tires and barriers." But the company reported $12M in debts "owed to investors, creditors and vendors, including more than" $1.5M in "unpaid taxes and fees to the city of Baltimore." Silverman said that the company is "trying to figure what to do with its assets" (Baltimore SUN, 2/29).

SCHEDULING CONFLICT: In Baltimore, Jack Lambert reports the Baltimore Grand Prix, "approved by the city for the next five years, can only claim its usual Labor Day weekend date in 2015 if it pays up." The American Legion Convention is "scheduled to come to town that weekend." Visit Baltimore President & CEO Tom Noonan said that if the convention "were to move its date, the partners behind Downforce Racing, the race’s new organizers, would have to pay the American Legion for the change." He said that rescheduling the convention would "have to be done at least two years in advance." Noonan added that there are "no conversations with American Legion representatives about moving the convention at this time." The two events "couldn't coexist because they're both in the heart of downtown" (BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/24 issue).