A $250-320M redevelopment of Pimlico Race Course could "assure the 147-year-old north Baltimore facility remains a suitable home" for the Preakness Stakes, but questions "loom about who might pay for it," according to Walker & Barker of the Baltimore SUN. A study released Friday by the Maryland Stadium Authority "lays out a tentative plan to renovate the track's clubhouse and grandstand, replace the backstretch barn area with parking and create a new stable area complete with a tree-lined pedestrian promenade." And lawmakers and the track operator now say that they are "ready for serious discussions about who might pay for the project." Those talks "could determine whether Pimlico continues to host" the Preakness each May. Stronach Group COO Tim Ritvo, whose group owns Pimlico and Laurel Park, said that the company "won't foot the entire bill." But he added that the Stronach Group is "open to discussing a public-private partnership." Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh said that it is "essential to invest in the neighborhood around the track in addition to the facility itself." But the "need for public reinvestment in Pimlico" comes at a time when the city faces a $130M budget shortfall in its school system as well as "pressing infrastructure needs to modernize its sewer system and roads." State House Speaker Michael Busch "likened Pimlico's history to that of cherished" ballparks such as Fenway Park and Wrigley Field (Baltimore SUN, 2/25). In Baltimore, Jonathan Munshaw noted the MSA's study is the "first phase of a two-phase project." In another six months, Phase II will "look into development strategies and funding regarding renovations at Pimlico." Baltimore City Councilman Isaac Schleifer, who represents the Pimlico neighborhood, "expressed skepticism that the city would receive help from the Stronach Group to pay for the renovations, calling them 'absentee' owners" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/24).
