1st Mariner Arena is "officially dropping the reference to 1st Mariner Bank from its name and changing back to Baltimore Arena," according to Chris Kaltenbach of the Baltimore SUN. Arena GM Frank Remesch said of 1st Mariner, "They are a great partner of ours, but it's really not fair to give them something for nothing. It's time to take the name off the building." The facility was renamed 1st Mariner Arena in '03, "when former 1st Mariner CEO Ed Hale agreed to pay the city $75,000 a year for the naming rights." That agreement "expired Jan. 1, and officials on both sides were unable to come to terms on continuing it." Remesch said that officials with N.Y.-based Legends Sales & Marketing, which is managing the sale of the naming rights, "would be meeting with 1st Mariner officials to determine when the name would actually come off the building." As of Friday afternoon, the logo on e-mails from the corporate offices had "reverted to the old 'Baltimore Arena' logo, with the city's skyline and a sailboat to the left of a stylized letter 'B.'" Remesch said that 1st Mariner "will remain the 'official bank' of the arena." Remesch added that negotiations were "underway with several companies about purchasing the naming rights." The arena is managed by SMG Holdings (Baltimore SUN, 8/3).
