Misc. Sports

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Collectors say the value of truly rare items has increased

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Rick Currence, owner of Sports Card Heroes in Laurel, will be exhibiting at the National Sports Collectors Convention beginning Wednesday at the Baltimore Convention Center.The 31st annual National Sports Collectors Convention begins in Baltimore on Wednesday, and the uncertain economic climate hasn’t dampened enthusiasm for a sometimes pricey industry — local collectors say this is still one of their busiest weeks of the year.

Exhibitors say the demand for sports memorabilia since the 2008 recession has gone two ways — while interest has dropped for the “manufactured” memorabilia, the value of the more rare items has increased.

“We didn’t see a change in interest in the older, true collectible stuff,” said Bill Huggins, co-owner of Huggins & Scott Auctions in Silver Spring. “The ‘true’ stuff is stuff usually [manufactured before] 1970 and it didn’t have a value before. Hence if you’re cleaning out your house, those are first things that get thrown away. Those have really held value through the economic recession.”

The items that have taken a bigger hit are collectibles like limited edition prints or autographed items that don’t have historical significance. (Think Nolan Reimold bobble-heads.)

Maryland wants to recycle cross-state bike race

Fourteen years after the annual mid-Atlantic cycling race Tour Du Pont abruptly ended, state officials and cycling enthusiasts are trying to bring a race to Maryland in 2012 that could generate as much as $40 million in annual spending.

Tour de Maryland would be a seven-day cycling event covering roads in all five regions of the state — Southern, central and Western Maryland; the Eastern Shore and the capital region, according to Terry Hasseltine, the state’s director of sports marketing who is trying to position the race as a mid-spring precursor to the Tour de France.

“It’s a great way to showcase the state’s tourism assets, and it draws a major international following,” Hasseltine said. “We’re talking the likes of Lance Armstrong and others participating.”

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The end for Baltimore’s ESPN Zone

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The closing of Baltimore’s ESPN Zone on Wednesday will not only leave 150 people unemployed, it will leave a huge hole in a premier, 170,000-square-foot downtown development in a still-recovering economy.

Owner Walt Disney Co. announced the shuttering of its five, standalone sports-themed restaurants on Wednesday. Roughly 1,000 employees nationwide at ESPN Zones in Baltimore, Washington, Chicago, New York and Las Vegas will be affected, according to Leigh Friedman, ESPN Zone’s regional marketing manager in Baltimore.

The Zone is a major tenant in the Inner Harbor’s Power Plant building, which was developed and reopened in 1997 by Baltimore-based The Cordish Cos. The restaurant was a founding tenant of the building, which had been closed for the 10 years prior, and in 1998, it was the first ESPN Zone to open in the country.

Zed Smith, a vice president of Cordish Co., said in a statement the Zone’s location makes it attractive to potential tenants.

“We will replace the ESPN Zone with an equally spectacular venue,” Smith said.

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Group wants to build $30M tennis complex in Howard County

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By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

Art Tollick said his Howard County Tennis Patrons decided to ‘do something that really makes a mark on the county and region in terms of a regional sports destination.’A private group trying to build a $30 million tennis and sports complex in Elkridge says it’s one step closer to bringing a formidable economic engine to Howard County that could generate up to $69 million in spending in its first three years.

Howard County Tennis Patrons Inc. has agreed to terms with the Howard County Recreation and Parks Department for a 40-year lease of 14 acres in Troy Regional Park for the construction of the Troy Park Tennis and Sports Center.

What started off more than five years ago as a push to get more tennis courts built in the county turned into a coordinated effort for a privately funded sports complex, said HCTP President Art Tollick.

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Depleted film fund could hurt chances for filming lacrosse movie in Md.

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By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

The state’s depleted film incentives budget may keep Hollywood’s first sports movie about lacrosse from filming in Maryland where it is recognized as the official team sport.

“Crooked Arrows” is nearing its financing goal of $5 million for production and $2 million for distribution. Reebok has signed on as an official sponsor and co-marketer, the movie’s Facebook group has gone from 1,000 to more than 5,000 fans in the last month and lacrosse publications are chattering away about the film.

The film is slated to shoot this fall with a release after the lacrosse season in the summer of 2011. Co-producer J. Todd Harris said Friday he was “definitely looking at Maryland” to shoot the film, but there’s a hitch.

“The concern is that Maryland’s funds are more limited,” said Harris, who has produced 35 films in the last 15 years including “Bottle Shock” and “Jeepers Creepers.” “The kitty doesn’t have as much in it. If we make a five-million-dollar movie you should get back about a million and a quarter.”

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Loyola University Maryland raises the bar

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By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

After more than a decade of planning, fundraising and construction, Loyola University Maryland is counting on its new $62 million Ridley Athletic Complex to impress recruits and boost the school’s image.

“It engenders pride,” said The Rev. Brian F. Linnane, Loyola’s president. “We feel that … done in the right way, it will give us great momentum internally with our students and faculty, and externally it will attract more students and alumni.”

And in going from one 4-acre field on campus to a 71-acre sports complex that eventually will have two fields and a running track, Loyola’s athletics facilities have definitely been supersized.

J. Richard Awalt Field will host soccer and lacrosse games and the adjacent Sean Lugano Memorial Field will be used for practices and rugby games. Both of those facilities are completed. Construction on the 400-meter track is scheduled to begin soon at the complex, which is about three miles from Loyola’s Evergreen Street campus.

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WMAR outsourcing its 11 p.m. sportscast to PressBox

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By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer 

After months without a sportscaster of its own, Baltimore’s WMAR has turned to a local sports media company to produce sports segments on its nightly television newscasts — a move some say is a financial win for both companies but a potential loss for viewers.

PressBox, a Baltimore company with a monthly newspaper, a Web site, and weekly television and radio shows, started producing the script and voiceover for WMAR’s sportscasts more than a week ago and plans to officially announce the new relationship Monday.

A handful of PressBox writers — including company founder Stan “The Fan” Charles and managing editor Kevin Heitz — serve as the nightly voice of the sportscast. A 90-second voiceover of highlights and news is recorded and sent to WMAR, where the video is later edited in and aired during the 11 p.m. newscast.

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Annual lacrosse convention brings 5,000 to Baltimore

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By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

It’s the fastest-growing sport in the country, and as thousands of key decision makers in the lacrosse world flock to Baltimore this weekend, companies new and old are hoping to make their mark.

Friday marks the start of the 12th annual U.S. Lacrosse National Convention, an event known around the industry as the place to woo potential clients.

“You’ve got all the top product manufacturers here … exhibiting their product — they’re here because the coaches are here,” said Bill Schoonmaker, COO of Baltimore-based U.S. Lacrosse. “It is an opportunity for them to put their best foot forward in a unique environment.”

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Sports Legends Museum sales up

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By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

Thanks to a little help from its friends, Baltimore’s Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards posted a nearly 30 percent increase in its combined store sales and admissions revenue in 2009.
 
The museum, home of the Ravens and Orioles team store, increased its store and admissions revenue by more than $200,000 to $920,000 for the 2009 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30.
 
It’s the biggest year-over-year increase for the Baltimore sports history and memorabilia museum since it opened in 2005.
 
Michael Gibbons, executive director of the Babe Ruth Birthplace Foundation Inc., which operates the museum, said most of the revenue boost came from increased store sales in 2009, while the attendance total inched up about 1.5 percent.

Friendly forecast has Wisp hoping for a big season

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

Coming off a season in which visitor numbers grew over the prior year, Maryland’s only ski resort expects a steady season and another visitation increase, thanks to predictions of a snowy winter.

Wisp Resort in Garrett County does not release its specific visitor totals, but Director of Marketing Lori Epp said the Appalachian Mountain resort saw a 7.9 percent increase in skier and snowboarder visits during the 2008-09 season over the prior year.

And Wisp isn’t alone — despite a lagging economy that’s taking a toll on luxury purchases and discretionary spending, many resorts across the mid-Atlantic and Southeast saw an uptick in visitation numbers last year, according to the National Ski Areas Association.

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A big goal for Towson retailer Lax World

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By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

After opening seven stores over 20 years, Towson-based retailer Lax World is in the middle of an aggressive, three-store expansion to capitalize on the growing popularity of lacrosse while there are still deals to be had in the depressed commercial real estate market.

Lax World, which specializes in lacrosse equipment, clothing and accessories, opened a store in York Galleria Mall in York, Pa., in October and three weeks ago opened a store in the new Maple Lawn development in Howard County. The company is now scouting out a location in Bethesda, and executives say they hope to open a store there within a few months in time for the 2010 season.

Two of Lax World’s stores have also gotten bigger this year — its flagship store in The Shops at Kenilworth expanded into the open space next door in the mall, while its Bel Air location moved to the Harford Mall in a space 50 percent larger than its former South Main Street location.

Jerry Scott, the company’s director of operations, would not specify what kind of leasing deals Lax World was able to get but said they were “just too good to pass up.”

Edie Brown: A friend in the PR arena

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer 

Edie Brown began working for what was then called the Baltimore Civic Center in 1983, after more than three years at the Baltimore Convention Center.Edie Brown can’t go anywhere in Baltimore without seeing someone she knows.

When asked how many people she knows here, the longtime public and community relations director for the 1st Mariner Arena just laughs.

“[Baltimore] is very neighborhood-oriented, so you kind of always stick to people that you know and you grew up with or went to school with who are in the same social circle, so you don’t really expand out of that little circle,” she said. “This has given me the opportunity to meet terrific people I never would have met otherwise. It helps you stay young and alert.”

And while she may have framed photos of herself and Luciano Pavarotti, Michael Phelps and Sugar Ray Leonard in her office, the 76-year-old has made her career by treating everyone who crosses her path as a friend.

Stadium Authority cuts budget

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
September 2, 2009 12:11 AM

The Maryland Stadium Authority voted to cut its 2011 budget by $10 million Tuesday in an effort to curb spending and minimize the state’s funding of the agency.

“We took our expenses back to 2009 levels and what we actually spent this [fiscal] year,” said Chairman John Morton III after the meeting at the Camden Yards warehouse. “We felt it was important that we ran with the same expense load and even more important that we don’t ask the state for any additional funding than we needed.”

To afford the cut to $75.4 million, an 11.2 percent decrease from the stadium authority’s projected budget this year of $85.4 million, the board approved cutting the position of general counsel from the payroll, limiting staff expenses and will likely have to limit the number of feasibility studies it approves during the 2011 fiscal year.

The fiscal year for stadium authority, the governing body for the state’s sports and entertainment facilities, runs from July 1 to June 30.

The position of general counsel was last filled by Alison Asti, who also served as the executive director for her last two years before being asked to leave both positions in September of 2007.

Although David Raith, the chief financial officer for the stadium authority, would not say how much the position cut would save the agency, The Daily Record reported in 2007 that Asti earned more than $225,000 a year for her roles. Had she stayed on as general counsel and director of development after being fired as executive director, her contract would have guaranteed her $200,000 a year.

Keeping O.C.’s White Marlin Open fresh

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
July 30, 2009 6:49 PM

OCEAN CITY — Jim Motsko had no idea 36 years ago that his scheme to earn money while fishing would ever amount to anything.

But his tournament idea quickly took off, and the White Marlin Open, which begins Monday, has become The crew of the Cerveza, out of Pirates Cove, N.C., fights a white marlin on the first day of the 2008 tournament.the largest billfish tournament in the world, bringing thousands of people to Ocean City each August. Anglers come from up and down the East Coast to compete for their shot at hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes — and to spend money hand over fist while they’re here.

But with the cost of fuel last summer causing the biggest drop in entrants in the tournament’s history, and the recession this summer still scaring away boat owners who can’t afford the costs, the economic boost the White Marlin Open usually delivers to local retailers has been softer in recent years.

“You reach a point where there’s no boat docks left,” Motsko, 62, said. “We were at that point a couple years ago. Now I can tell you of 20 docks with space left off the top of my head.”

The city estimates more than 300,000 people come here during tournament week, comparable to a Fourth of July weekend. But those who come for the White Marlin Open are no ordinary tourists, said Memo Diricker, director of the Business Economic and Community Outreach Network at Salisbury University.

“Per day spending of these kinds of high-end events tends to be much higher-focused than when a regular tourist comes to the beach,” he said. “In some cases, spending is almost 1½ to two times the average per-day expenditure.”

The White Marlin Open reached its height in 2005, when 446 boats were entered. According to estimates, depending on the size of the boat, it can cost between $3,000 and $5,000 per day to enter the five-day tournament in which entrants choose three days (usually Monday, Tuesday and Friday) to fish. That includes the tournament fee, which can range from $1,000 for the base fee to more than $15,000 to enter all prize categories, fuel, bait, tackle and other supplies.

Much work before a green flag drops in Baltimore

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
July 7, 2009 8:15 PM

City and state officials are behind it. The economic impact study estimates $100 million could be in store for Baltimore.

With the office buildings as a backdrop, safety workers untangle cars during April’s Grand Prix of Long Beach, which features the same type of cars that organizers want to bring to Baltimore in 2011.But bringing an IndyCar Series street race to the Inner Harbor also represents a massive logistical responsibility and is far from a sure thing in 2011.

From repaving streets to rerouting traffic and public transportation routes to installing sound barriers to keep out noise pollution in surrounding neighborhoods, a lot of elements need to be assessed before bringing the race here is a done deal.

“It’s an enormous, enormous undertaking,” said Terry Hasseltine, director of sports marketing for the state.

But Hasseltine and other city and state officials seem poised to do what they can to bring the event, and its estimated spending impact of $70 million to $100 million, here in two years.

Charter operators fishing for customers this season

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
May 21, 2009 7:26 PM

OCEAN CITY — The problems may be different this summer for Ocean City’s charter boat operators, but the worries are the same.

Shepherd University student Anthony Pino spends his summers as a first mate on the Marlin Magic, but he doesn’t see a future for himself in the industry.After their worst season in decades — thanks to high fuel prices and a poor tuna fishing season — this year the boat captains will have to deal with the recession.

Although last year’s season was described with words like “horrible” and “devastating,” most operators in one of the resort town’s largest industries, who are hired for offshore fishing day trips, say matching 2008’s numbers will be good enough this year.

“We’re optimistic,” said Ron Callis, captain of the Shelly II. “The fuel’s less than half what it was last summer, so that alone will save us some money.”

Added Brian Tinkler, general manager at the Sunset Marina: “Last year the boats didn’t move. It’s still anybody’s guess for this year with the economy, but we’re encouraged by the fuel prices.”

Maryland launches online sports venue directory

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
May 8, 2009 9:04 PM

With the launch of a new online directory detailing the state’s more than 600 sports facilities, officials Left to right, Cal Ripken, Jr., President and CEO of Ripken Baseball; Christian Johansson, Secretary of DBED; Terrance Hasseltine, Director of the Maryland Office of Sports Marketing and John Morton III, Chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority, announce new state online sports venue directory.say Maryland is finally “ready to play” as a destination for world-class sporting events.

“This is a $182 billion industry and is growing annually,” Terrance Hasseltine, the state’s sports marketing director, said at a press conference Friday at Camden Yards. “It’s time we go out for a bigger piece of that proverbial pie.”

Hasseltine was joined in the announcement by Cal Ripken Jr., whose Ripken Baseball operates the largest youth baseball complex in the state, and representatives from the Department of Business and Economic Development and the Maryland Stadium Authority.

Dew Tour not returning to Baltimore

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
March 2, 2009 11:08 AM

After kicking off its season in Baltimore for the last two years, the 2009 AST Dew Tour will bypass Baltimore, state officials announced Monday.

Last June’s stop drew more than 52,500 fans to the parking lots surrounding M&T Bank Stadium over four days and generated about $10 million in economic impact, according to city tourism officials. Michael Frenz, executive director of the Maryland Stadium Authority, said they were disappointed in the decision but he hoped the loss would be buffered by other sporting events coming to Baltimore this year.

“The economic impact is not so great for us to say all is lost,” he said, noting that the state Office of Sports Marketing’s director, Terry Hasseltine, is continuing to work on bringing new and return events to Maryland such as the NCAA men’s lacrosse final four, which Baltimore will host again in 2010 and 2011.

The stadium authority said a conflict with the Orioles’ schedule in June and a change in the tour’s format contributed to the decision.

“We’re disappointed they are not coming this summer and we welcome them back in the future,” said Frenz.

Stadium authority says it’s poised to bring more events to Md.

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
February 11, 2009 6:47 PM

ANNAPOLIS — Fresh off of winning the bid to host the 2010 and 2011 NCAA lacrosse Final Four in Baltimore, Maryland Stadium Authority Chairman John Morton III told legislators Wednesday that while the agency expected a decrease in revenue this year, it was poised to be a revenue generator for the state’s future.

“When I worked on the [2012] Olympic bid, one of the things we took away from that is that there were hundreds of events taking place every year that our state was just missing,” Morton told the House Appropriations Committee’s Education and Economic Development Subcommittee. “We had the transportation and infrastructure in place ... but no consolidated effort or logistic approach to how we were going to loop in on this.”

With a new sports marketing director in place who last month submitted a report stating that Maryland had at least 380 venues that could be marketed to the national and international sporting world, Morton said progress had been made but was far from complete.