Sun coverage: A new arena for Baltimore?

Dan Rodricks: City's awash in arena visions

I need to ask the people who've been writing letters to the editor expressing nostalgic affection for the 1st Mariner Arena - and horror at the prospect of that outdated box being torn down and replaced - the following question: When was the last time you were there? When the Beatles played, or was it Herman's Hermits?

Dan Rodricks: Let's go green with arena

Here's how Baltimore gets the world's attention, attracts an NBA or NHL franchise, pulls in a major corporate sponsor, establishes another tourist destination a couple of blocks from Camden Yards, helps foster a new sector of jobs in Maryland and reduces long-term operating costs of its new downtown arena: with pizza made from tomatoes grown on the premises.

Planners see arena reviving west side

By choosing to build a new arena on the west side of downtown, Baltimore is placing a $300 million bet on an area that has long struggled to come to life.

Fight over funding taking shape

As Baltimore officials and sports fans bask in the promise a new arena could bring to the city, a familiar battle is already taking shape among the state lawmakers who may be charged with finding a way to pay for it.

Bigger facility, biggest events

State and city leaders unveiled plans yesterday to tear down the aging 1st Mariner Arena and replace it with a new venue big enough to attract a professional basketball or hockey team to Baltimore - an idea that drew a skeptical response from the sports world.

A step back in hopes of a leap forward

No rumbling monster trucks crushing junkyard cars. No throngs of tweens screaming as Hannah Montana takes the stage. And no elephants stomping down Pratt Street in the springtime.

Dan Rodricks: Quit thinking small, people of Baltimore

As for the nattering negativists who will surely say this is a dumb idea, that it will never work, that Baltimore will never get this and never get that - well, blah, blah, blah. We've heard it all before. Mr. Grumpy-Gills really should treat himself to the big picture sometime. I know. It's hard. You've grown accustomed to thinking weenie and being cynical. After all, that's part of our national culture, and the condition has long been acute here in Baltimore, where the only thing we've had to "celebrate" lately (Wednesday at Camden Yards) was the Orioles' win in the World Series - 25 years ago.

Not so fast

Rick Maese: A few loose ends to tie up for that arena

It's handy and it's dandy. Easy to fold and easy to hold. When you see your favorite politician, pass it on. When you see your local sports team owner, be sure to share. Because here it is for the very first time: The definitive, dead-on, no-excuses checklist.

No sure pro shot for city

A new arena is a poor risk for Baltimore if the city is counting on attracting an NHL or NBA franchise, sports business experts say, but some agree with city leaders that a proposed 18,500-seat venue could be profitable without such an anchor tenant.

Feeling kicked out, Blast owner considers own arena in county

With Baltimore possibly building a new arena on the site of his team's home, 1st Mariner Arena, Blast owner Ed Hale will be looking for a new place to play - or he might just build one himself in Baltimore County.

Opinions of city's WNBA viability vary

Can a women's professional basketball team make it in Baltimore?

Shot at WNBA for city?

Representatives of the WNBA have met with Mayor Sheila Dixon to discuss the possibility of moving a franchise to Baltimore once a new downtown arena is built, Dixon said yesterday.

David Steele: City sits on sideline in NBA competition

The two news items from early and late Wednesday weren't exactly related, but they were more than coincidental. In the morning: a front-page story in The Sun about how The Relic on Howard Street (aka 1st Mariner Arena) still makes a decent profit. At night: a settlement that allows the NBA's SuperSonics to move from Seattle to Oklahoma City.

Still rockin'

At a time when Baltimore officials are poised to make recommendations on a new indoor sports and concert arena, the aging facility that's being replaced is performing better than ever.

Dan Rodricks: Arena tests city's will to go big league

The decision to build a new arena - where it should be, how big it should be, and what it becomes known for - represents a choice about the city's future: Is Baltimore going to remain a midlevel city with midlevel ambitions and feeble self-esteem, or will it become bigger, bolder and totally major-league?

New ballgame

Many of the city's most prominent developers propose building Baltimore's new indoor sports and concert arena outside of downtown and pairing the facility with ambitious waterfront projects or struggling areas in need of a boost.

Dan Rodricks: Put arena by interstate and bring on the games

A report this week says what we've known for, like, infinity: Baltimore needs a new arena to replace the old arena. In the old arena, I saw, among many other entertainments, Raw is War, the Village People, Sesame Street Live, eight Russian women on pogo sticks, Airiana The Human Arrow, the Baltimore Bandits and Luciano Pavarotti.

City is urged to replace arena

First Mariner Arena, Baltimore's largest indoor entertainment venue, has "served its useful life," and the city must build another before it starts losing events, a new report warns.

Canton building would face number of considerations

Blast owner Ed Hale, the chairman and chief executive officer of 1st Mariner Bank, would love to see a new arena built in East Baltimore near his headquarters.

David Steele: Arena first step in filling basketball void in city

Enough area basketball fans and observers said it while walking around HSBC Arena last weekend to make it more than a fleeting thought by a niche audience: