Worcester County Economic Development Director Bill Badger told the commissioners that last summer his department by contacted by Hat Trick Consultants of Grapevine, Texas “to discuss their interest in building a 6,200-seat arena outside of Ocean City to attract a minor league hockey franchise.”
According to paperwork, the proposed arena “would serve as a multipurpose facility, thereby attracting professional sports franchises, concerts, high school and/or college basketball teams, lacrosse tournaments, conventions, boxing matches, horseback riding events, business meetings and other sporting events.”
An arena study was conducted and projected 125 events a year with over 400,000 attendees and 100 full-time jobs. The commissioners received the study last summer as did the Maryland Stadium Authority.
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OLD.... they were going to come to SBY but again they being SBY gave them the run around like all business or teams who want to be here...
ReplyDeleteHow is that arena in Salisbury working out?
ReplyDeleteThe shore is big time hockey country 4 sure. Bet it will be sold out crowds every game.
ReplyDeleteYep. Team was interested in Salisbury, but cowards in County wouldn't challenge ban on alcohol sales at Civic Center. A plan was recommended to move deed restriction to a ball field which is what the Civic Center was supposed to be anyway, so county is already in violation of deed. Distant heirs didn't seem to care about enforcing restriction. No guts, no glory. No leadership from Mackes and catering to Prettyman kept the possibility from going forward. This will now probably happen in Worcester. Another timid failure by the Pollitt crowd to have "vision" something he touted all the time.
ReplyDeleteEconomic tests have to be completed before venues are built.Sby does not have the per capita income to justify an arena.Facts are facts.The money is just not here to support such a thing.Wicomico County needs to purchase Safran as in yesterday.All of their expansion woes would officially be over and the temp agency that is Safran would do us all a favor and leave.
ReplyDeleteBuild a venue at labinal and let the civic center fold.
DeleteSporting venues don't make fiscal sense without alcohol. That is where most of your profits come from
ReplyDeleteThe civic center Is holding back wicomico county.
ReplyDeleteThis is asinine and those who voted for it should be embarrassed. How about concentrating on trying to lure better paying manufacturing jobs into Worcester county so people would have a better option when job searching then just the retail/ hospitality industry.
ReplyDeleteAny supposed jobs this arena will create will just be more low paying dead end jobs.
yes, very ashamed of those who voted to spend all that money yesterday for Badger to ride around to vegas and elsewhere plus the train and arena study---waste waste waste
ReplyDeleteI happened to see the Tustin man driving around sunday in a new explorer cant find this anywhere on bid documents but did find they cut it from the budget last year guess he just bought a new truck anyway---no regard for us taxpayers
Clear out the civic center in wicomico county! Mackes never met a young B.S. degree he could give a do little or nothing job for 45k.
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