After dismissing two less ambitious options, the Maryland Stadium Authority on Thursday proposed replacing the faded Pimlico Race Course with a stylish — and costly — track designed to open its amenities to the surrounding community year-round and encourage development in a distressed area of Baltimore.
The plan for the 148-year-old home of the Preakness Stakes, Maryland’s largest and splashiest sporting event, includes a four-level clubhouse and plaza area called the Palio — named after the Palio di Siena horse race in Italy — and a new track and infield positioned to open the site further to the public.
The project, which would take three years to complete, was endorsed by Mayor Catherine Pugh (D) and would achieve city officials’ objectives of keeping the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown in Baltimore, making the 110-acre campus accessible during non-racing days and potentially transforming the nearby neighborhoods.
In the city’s vision for the track, the plaza would be built “to serve as a scenic saddling area during Preakness Week and to serve the community the rest of the year with public concerts, performing arts, festivals and open-air markets,” a news release from the mayor’s office said. It said a clubhouse would stage social and civic events, after-school and summer programs, meetings, drone racing, esports and other activities.
The study found that $424 million is needed for the project — about $100 million higher than earlier estimates. The cost includes $252.2 million for the clubhouse, $120.5 million for infrastructure improvements, $29.6 million for work on the infield and track, and $21.5 million for demolition.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Jeff Barker over at the Washington Post
