Matt Vensel of The Baltimore Sun asked today (http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baltimore-sports-blog/bal-sportsblitz-your-turn0902,0,6563146.story?track=rss&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed) if anyone was actually excited about the Baltimore Grand Prix.
Based on my complete lack of coverage of the event, you might expect my answer to be no. The truth is that while I know absolutely nothing about racing, I have been looking forward to this weekend.
Make no mistake, this is a major event for the City of Baltimore. There has been lots of complaining about how traffic has been impacted, that trees were cut down (http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-08-03/features/bs-gr-race-trees-replant-20110803_1_tree-removal-new-trees-jay-davidson), the bottom-line is dollars and cents. Baltimore is one of the few Major cities in the Country that is not incorporated into the surrounding County. Due to that, generating revenue is always an issue for the City. This also leads to Chicken and Egg arguments that exist about the high property taxes within Baltimore. The idea being that because the City lacks the larger tax-base, the property taxes are inflated so that basic expenses can be paid. We understand that there is a line of logic that should those property taxes be reduced, there would be an in-flux of new ownership and revenue would increase.
Smarter people than myself can have that discussion. The discussion I want to have is, that any event that points out the positive things Baltimore has to offer is a good thing. When this event was first announced last Summer, we saw estimations of the City generating $250M over 5 years. That would be tremendous. As the event begins, we are seeing estimates (http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-09-01/entertainment/bal-baltimore-grand-prix-numbers-behind-the-event-20110830_1_baltimore-grand-prix-approximate-number-car-burns) of Baltimore generating $70M in revenue this year, with 110 to 120,000 thousand spectators expected to attend.
This is a great opportunity for the City to show off a bit, and make an appeal Nationally for more Tourist dollars. Ask the hotels, restaurants, and shops downtown how important those 120k spectators are for their businesses.
I did not plan ahead and buy tickets. I’m sure on Sunday afternoon, I will be regretting that decision. A Virtual Lap of the race has been posted on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbDXDT7Ykzg&feature=share). You don’t have to know anything about racing, to recognize how awesome it will be to watch drivers going 180 mph throughout the City. You don’t have to love some of the inconveniences, to recognize what a boon this is overall for Baltimore.
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.