Sports
Baltimore Mayor Wants Minor League Soccer In The City
Maryland legislators are considering spending money for a small stadium.
It is time to add Baltimore and Maryland politicians to the list of elected officials who think building a publicly funded small soccer stadium will be an economic generator for their municipalities. The Maryland legislature is studying a proposal that would use $217 million in state bonds to fund the stadium at the Carroll Park Golf Course in southwest Baltimore. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Major League Soccer’s Washington-based D.C. United franchise CEO Jason Levien want to build a facility that would house a United Soccer League women’s team, a minor league MLS Next Pro men’s team, and a youth academy. Baltimore is about 40 miles north of Washington, D. C.
“D.C. United is betting on Baltimore, and what bet is better than to bet on Baltimore?” Mayor Scott asked. “We look forward to welcoming everyone to make sure professional soccer has a home here in Baltimore.” Baltimore does not have either an MLS or a USL men’s league team. Baltimore and Washington should be considered the same market as Baltimore’s southern suburbs and Washington’s northern suburbs overlap. The D. C. United franchise draws customers from that area. Miami CF will play a regular-season match against D.C. United in Baltimore on March 7th.”One of the reasons we love the Carroll Park site is the campus feel,” Levien said. “It’s over 80 acres, so we’re going to put an academy, a 40,000-square-foot building that’s going to have classrooms, a weight room, locker rooms, a cafeteria, all of that on the site. Now that we’ve got the legislation introduced. We’ve got the mayor on board. We’ve got Carmelo Anthony, who wants to be a sports team and owner with us and a partner in Baltimore. We think the stars have aligned for us to make this really happen.” All Levien needs is public money.
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
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