A study by the Maryland Stadium Authority calls for a $424 million rebuilding of Pimlico Race Course—home of the Preakness Stakes—and the surrounding area.
The study seeks to design an ideal venue to host the Preakness Stakes and considers several year-round, non-racing uses for the site in Baltimore’s Park Heights area. It recommends adding amenities at the track, such as a grocery store, other shops, a hotel and townhouses, according to an analysis by the Baltimore Sun.
The study calls for “demolition and removal of all existing structures on the site, including the tracks, infield, grandstand, clubhouse, equestrian barns and associated infrastructure.”
The $424 million cost named in the report covers only the clubhouse and tracks and not any other future development in the area.
The state of the Pimlico facility presents “significant challenges, which, if not addressed, may threaten its continued existence and the success of the Preakness Stakes,” the study said.
The study suggests city and state officials, the Maryland Jockey Club and The Stronach Group of Canada, which owns Pimlico and Laurel Park, enter into formal negotiations about renovating the track. The Stronach Group has said previously that it will not completely finance a rebuild and that a substantial public investment would be needed.
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh said she was encouraged by the report’s findings, but also said it is too early to know what public subsidies would be available.
“It’s absolutely a beginning point,” Pugh told the Sun. “We will explore every single option as it relates to keeping this here.”
