Constructing a new Baltimore arena is a low probability option for redeveloping State Center, according to the results of a new land use study.
Officials are in the process of mapping out future options for State Center, a 28-acre property north of downtown Baltimore that includes several state government offices. Maryland governor Larry Hogan and the state Board of Works cancelled a contract with the previous private developer that was planning a mixed-use development with new state offices, leaving the future of the site in question.
The results of a new state-ordered land use study consider multiple options for the site, but a new Baltimore arena was one of the possibilities that was ranked as a “low” probability. More from The Baltimore Sun:
The study ranked an arena as a “low” probability as a potential use on the site, but did not explain why. Elsewhere, the study noted the existence of another arena — the Royal Farms Arena downtown — within one mile of the site.
Other uses that ranked “low” include big-box stores, a shopping mall, large office buildings, a hotel, detached housing, a movie theater and a performing arts venue.
Baltimore is currently served by Royal Farms Arena (shown above), a venue that opened in 1962. Discussions have taken place off and on over the years about replacing it with a more modern arena, but nothing has come to fruition to this point.
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