Tony Giro, The Examiner
2008-04-11 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

BALTIMORE -

It was the best of times. It was the worst of turf.

I forgot just how decrepit the 1st Mariner Arena was until I had the chance to show off my soccer acumen during the “celebrity” game during halftime of the Baltimore Blast-Detroit Ignition game at the “World’s Least Famous Arena.”

It’s been a while since I’ve set foot inside the Civic Center, I mean, Baltimore Arena, I mean, the Glass Menagerie on West Baltimore Street. In fact, it was 2003 when I took one of my classes on a field trip to see Ringling Bros., which is ironic since I looked like a one-man circus on the field this past Saturday.

Don’t get me wrong: With its cracked, concrete concourses, permanent stage and water-stained ceiling tiles, it’s not exactly like playing at Madison Square Garden. But playing at the arena so nice they named it thrice was still an honor.

I got chills from dressing in the same locker room where the Bullets’ Earl “The Pearl” Monroe put on his uniform. It was incredible using a bathroom where Wilt Chamberlain probably “scored.” Walking the hallways where Clippers goaltender Gilles Villamure sharpened his skates before taking the ice was cool. And traipsing across the stage where John Lennon and The Beatles became, “bigger than Jesus Christ,” was surreal.

But all my blissful Baltimore sports and entertainment memories came crashing down — along with my 220-pound frame — when I tripped on a gaping, three-inch seam in the AstroTurf while taking the field for introductions.

That’s when I knew I was bigger than John Candy.

After my fall, I couldn’t quite focus on the game. Instead, my mind wandered as I thought about how long this bland, boring box of an arena with rug worse than Marv Albert’s has held back the city.

This city badly needs a new arena.

City and State officials along with developers are hashing out plans to determine the 46-year-old arena’s future. But here is where things get sketchier than Mayor Sheila Dixon’s payroll: While far smaller cities like Hartford, Conn., Louisville, Ky., Kansas City, Mo., Omaha, Neb., and Oklahoma City have built, are building or are planning to construct state-of-the-art 18,000-seat arenas, our decision makers are kicking around the idea of replacing the 11,000 permanent seat arena we currently have with a 15,000-seat arena.

This short-sightedness is unacceptable and idiotic. The low budget Civic Center is partly to blame for the Bullets flying south to Washington and the NHL not absorbing the Clippers.

Why make the mistake of building an inadequate arena twice? Because selling ourselves short is something we in Baltimore do better than nearly every other city.

So what if we share a seaboard with Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington? There is plenty to brag about here in Charm City and it’s time we start doing it.

Even if a new 18,000-seat arena doesn’t land a major-league tenant right away, the list of possible events a venue that size could host are endless.

Forget Disney on Ice, I’m talking NCAA Frozen Four, which the Verizon Center hosts next year.

Forget driving to Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center to see your favorite band — I’m talking Pearl Jam in Baltimore.

Forget going elsewhere to see a Democratic or Republican National Convention — I’m saying just forget doing that all together.

Sure, building a world-class venue won’t cure the city’s pesky homicide problem or failing schools, but it could revive a neighborhood. It could spur transit-oriented development. It could instill a sense of pride in a city in constant need of a shot in the arm.

With so much good — really — finally happening in Baltimore, it is time to shake the “minor league” moniker and start thinking big league.

It may take a little vision, but it could be a Blast.

Tony Giro is a lifelong Baltimore sports fan who blogs on examiner.com for fans. If you subscribe — it’s free — you’ll be e-mailed each time Tony posts a column. He can be reached at timeout@baltimoreexaminer.com.