As the coronavirus pandemic recedes, officials and businesses in South Baltimore hope pent-up demand for leisure and travel will boost a new entertainment district between M&T Bank Stadium and Horseshoe Casino Baltimore.
Known as the Warner Street corridor, the four-block area could attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The goal is to also spur revenue at the casino. Additions to the district include a 4,000-seat concert hall called The Paramount, a Topgolf driving range and a new outdoor version of Hammerjacks, a storied Baltimore nightclub, according to the Washington Post.
Plans might feature retail and dining options and a hotel.
“We started looking at the vacant and underutilized industrial properties and said, ‘What can they be, and how can we make this a better corridor?’” said Kim Clark, executive vice president of the Baltimore Development Corp., the city’s development arm. “What can we do to create a better experience?”
Horseshoe Casino’s ownership group of Caesars Entertainment, Rock Gaming and Baltimore development firm Caves Valley Partners, has overseen the district.
The casino’s financial fortunes have trended down since 2016, when it reported nearly $160 million in revenue in the first six months of the year. Horseshoe remains Maryland’s third-largest casino behind MGM National Harbor near Washington and Live Casino in Hanover. The more than $920 million industry in Maryland stands to grow even bigger as the state begins legalizing online and in-person sports gambling.
Horseshoe has underperformed relative to Maryland’s other casinos, said James R. Karmel, a history professor at Harford Community College. He said Las Vegas thrives because of a range of amenities offered.
“It’s a little distant from the Inner Harbor, and most suburban Marylanders wouldn’t consider walking from the Inner Harbor to where Horseshoe is,” Karmel said.
When fully developed, the district could attract leisure and business travel for a variety of functions, from gaming to football to concerts.
“We’re going to have a lot of different options for folks,” said Randy Conroy, senior vice president and general manager of Horseshoe Casino Baltimore.
The Paramount, developed by Horseshoe, is a cousin of a similar named venue in Long Island. The lineup runs from Kevin James to Frankie Valli and Limp Bizkit.
“The appetite for such things has never been greater,” said Anirban Basu, a Baltimore-based economist and CEO of the Sage Policy Group, an economic consulting firm. “The goal is to build up significant synergies: Watch the Ravens, do some gambling, do Topgolf, do fine dining, and then plan your next trip to Baltimore.”
The BDC’s Clark, said other districts with football stadiums act as conduits where people shop and eat prior to and after games.
“What attracts fans and keeps them around? Quite frankly, what is making those cities money?” Clark said. “The entertainment sector is a job employment sector, so that’s where we look at it from economic point of view.”
