Baltimore Update

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Originally Posted by SarahFan

Who is going to suffer from the impact of the event ... A couple realmworld examples please

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Many business will lose out from a street race in the area. Blocked or hindered access will especially hit service companies like Doctors, lawyers, CPAs, dentists...etc. Also retailers that don't attract the average race fan will suffer as well.

Whenever a street race is proposed the 2 groups who always battle it are those who don't want Taxpayer money used and those who's business will suffer. Why do you think that their is such opposition to a Las Vegas Street race? Why have all the other street races aside from Long Beach have fallen by the wayside?

What's important to remember is you can't just take a look at the number of attendees, say they'll spend X amount of money and then use that as the impact number. There's also corporate spending, exposure, promotion, an bump in tippable employee wages and with a yearly street race a positive bump on property values. For example there is one condo tower in Long Beach that I'm aware where condos with a view of the race are 20 to 40 percent higher than similar units on the same floor.

I'd be interested to see what the volume/value ratio is. There are two sets of numbers for any event like this. There is the public numbers, which are a little less than the best case scenario, and then there is number that takes into account the makeup of the neighborhood and the racial and income demographics of the crowd, which are never, ever made public. For example Freaknick had a high impact on paper, but outside of restaurants, nightclubs and retail stores that catered to an R&B crows the event had a negative overall value for Atlanta, and that was before you factored in overtime for the police department and public works and lost productivity because of the traffic situation.

One of the beauties of the area they are talking about is that there are not too many businesses in the track area that are not event based businesses - I think the negative impact is actually going to be minimal.... There is a baseball park, a football park, a convention center and a whole bunch of businesses that count on the people those places bring in.....

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Originally Posted by Lee Roy

I guess the real test will be if the City of Baltimore feels it made more or less money from this race weekend than it usually would have over a Labor Day weekend.

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Considering Labor Day weekend is traditionally one of the slowest tourist weekends Baltimore City and the Inner Harbor sees all summer, that shouldn't be hard to realize. We rarely have a Ravens game at home Laborday weekend, and the Orioles.... welllll.... lets just say they aren't burning up the turnstyles unless the Yankees or Sox are in town. I feel safe in saying the Hilton, Sheraton, Hyatt, Marriott and Intercontinental's occupancy rates that weekend will show a definite bump considering their locations totally within or fronting the two main straights of the track.

IIRC, that weekend traditionally has the lowest hotel occupancy and merchants around the inner Harbor have their historical receipts to judge all of that by. Of course they are optomistic, but Baltimore has a very long track record of knowing how to gauge true economic impacts to events around Camden Yards and the Inner Harbor. In essense, this is little different than adding another large stadium event or festival to the existing calender. Yeah, traffic downtown REALLY sucks right now due to the street repaving (I'm in it every day), but that would have happened eventually, race or not. I'm really anxious to see what they will be doing with the intersection of Howard Street/I 395 and Conway Street where tehy will be heading into the warehouse Parking lot. That's gonna make rush hour Interesting to say the least.

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Originally Posted by Lee Roy

Bingo. My buddy and I will be driving up for the day on Friday and Saturday (not planning on Sunday). I doubt very seriously if we buy much more than a couple of hot-dogs and a few beers.

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I live 24 miles from the intersection of Howard and Conway streets and I've already made my reservation for Friday and Saturday nights. I'll be there eating and drinking simply because I will be able to for a change. With a combined weekend, there's going to be plenty of on track action and plenty of time to buy beer.

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Originally Posted by Chris R

One of the beauties of the area they are talking about is that there are not too many businesses in the track area that are not event based businesses - I think the negative impact is actually going to be minimal.... There is a baseball park, a football park, a convention center and a whole bunch of businesses that count on the people those places bring in.....

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Exactly. The area is totally about tourism, plain and simple. That's exactly what the Harbor was re-built to be starting in the early 80's. The course layout was designed to avoid downtown north of Pratt Street where the business district actually starts. There's a handful of companies located in the middle floors of the baseball warehouse building which are generally closed on the weekend or associated with the stadiums anyway, and a couple businesses in the building at 1 S Light Street which is locked up tight as a drum on the weekends. Everything else with in the confines of the track is a hotel, the convention center, or the Otterbein Methodist Church which occasionally still sells snacks and drinks to fans headed to events in the area.

The folks in the condos and townhomes along Conway and a few apartments are very used to the commotion of living at the Harbor and joining the party. I actually already know of two parties planned in that area.

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Originally Posted by anthonyvop

Many business will lose out from a street race in the area. Blocked or hindered access will especially hit service companies like Doctors, lawyers, CPAs, dentists...etc. Also retailers that don't attract the average race fan will suffer as well.

Whenever a street race is proposed the 2 groups who always battle it are those who don't want Taxpayer money used and those who's business will suffer. Why do you think that their is such opposition to a Las Vegas Street race? Why have all the other street races aside from Long Beach have fallen by the wayside?

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You don't know the area Tony. VERY few of the busineses in the area affected by the street closures rely on anything BUT tourism. Foot traffic from the towntown businesses headed for Harborplace shouldn't be affected too much. The permanent sky bridges around the Inner Harbor connect a lot downtown, even if many people don't regularly use them. They keep everything accessable even when the sidewalks and streets are choked and were designed to allow pedestrian traffic to stay safe from vehicular traffic. The main pedestrian sidewalks are also NOT immediately adjacent to teh street, they are seperarted by wide raised planters. Ther are actually double sidewalks along PRatt street where there are businesses outside of the track. Then consider the Federal courthouse occupies a block, andd three blocks are consumed by corporate buildings that are desolate friday through tuesday on a laborday weekend. Even during set up and tear down, there's plenty of access especially since the access to those builldings is from the srtreet behind the harbor. My brother atually never touches a surface street when walking from his office on Pratt Street to Harbor Place. Sure, traffic will suck once they close I 395 and Russell street for the weekend. That's why I'm booked Friday Evening thru sunday. But there are plenty of ways to get in and out of the areas around the track in all directions.

People that live in the area generally don't shop at the Harbor. Tourists do. The Inner Harbor isn't where many people in Baltimore actually live and those that do, know how to avoid the Harbor traffic anyway. Aside from a few palm trees, I won't compare the crap locations Miami chose for it's races with Baltimore. I went to the last Miami race. Tamiami park was far better.

I fully realize that. I drive it twice a day most weeks. It's not unusual for people to be diverted up howard to pratt.

I wonder if the Light Rail will be running from Glen Burnie/BWI up to Hamburg Street that weekend? That's the best way to get into town as far as I'm concerned.

I'm wondering if the Light Rail will be operating that close to the race track? I think the Hamburg Street Station is the one by the Ravens Stadium and I would think that would be about as far as the Light Rail would be able to go.