1st Mariner Just Fine For Now

If there will be a $300 million replacement for the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, it will have to be some other time.

Although city officials say they’re committed to the project, they’ve postponed selecting a developer.

“It is a complicated and large project in any time, but in this trying economic situation, there is no reason to rush,” M.J. Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp., told the Baltimore Sun. “It would seem arbitrary, not meaningful, to pick a team in light of the current financial markets.”

The BDC, which reviewed proposals submitted by four development teams, was expected to make a decision by the middle of this year. Submissions included an arena that included a public park on top of it, one that incorporated a movie theatre, and one that included 100,000 square feet of shops, according to the Sun.

The 18,500-capacity facility would be built on the site of the 1st Mariner.