Pimlico: No Preakness? No Money

Ever heard the phrase "money talks"? Well that phrase is very true and not only does money talk, it talks loud. It talks louder than any voice on the face of the earth. The larger the amount of money is, the louder the money talks. Enter the Stronach Group, current owners of Pimlico, Laurel Race Track, and a Bowie Training Facility. They have a lot to say quite loudly with the money they have, the money they've gotten, and the money they want. So I'm going to make this very clear to the Stronach Group; No Preakness at Pimlico will cost you a lot of money both in the present and the future.

Those sound like fighting words. Well, they are. Stronach Group is trying to do the unthinkable; Move The Pareakness not just out of Pimlico, but out of Baltimore completely and into Laurel. It has become very clear that through money they've personally spent and money given to them by the state goes overwhelmingly to Laurel and they think Pimlico is too far gone to be renovated or redeveloped and that the future of horse racing in Maryland is in Laurel.

Well we here in Baltimore don't take too kindly to having a tradition that dates back to 1873 taken away from them. In fact, it makes us very angry. So angry that we may want to make Stronach group and its anti Baltimore rhetoric do what it appears unwilling to do; Pay. Not only will they get nothing in aid, tax breaks, tax shelters, but every penny they've gotten from the City of Baltimore or the State of Maryland EVER. This comes out to over a $100 million check Stronach will have to cough up which is about 1/4 the cost of a full Pimlico redevelopment which the Stadium Authority estimates to be $424 Million.

OK, so coughing up $100 million+ to the state doesn't sound like much when compared to $424 million however, if they get nothing from the state as far maintenance aid, tax breaks, tax shelters, those numbers can add up very quickly and Stronach is paying that money out of their own pockets instead of the state, this may get people's attention. Also, Stronach can't do a cut and run with Pimlico, if they abandon the race track, they will have to foot the bill for demolition of the site, clearing of the site, and infrastructure for whatever new development replaces Pimlico. That's quite a hefty bill Stronach is being stuck with for moving the Preakness out of Pimlico isn't it? I bet these costs they would have to pay to exit Baltimore have now exceeded $424 Million.

Now, by making Stronach pay so much cash and lose out on any additional aid if they move the Preakness to Laurel, suddenly the $424 million cost to redevelop Pimlico is the cheaper alternative. Not only that, the City and the State are now working with you instead of against you. All of that aid will no longer have to be paid back and the City State will continue to be willing provide future aid.

The one thing Stronach has a point of is the lack of use Pimlico over all throughout the year. In a previous post several years back, I have proposed part of the redevelopment include turning the racetrack into a large swimming pool and water park during the summer and an ice skating rink during the winter using the Beverly Hills High Swim Gym technology as stated in my previous post. These additional uses may cost more with redevelopment however, with the additional uses at Pimlico the additional revenue, these upgraded uses will pay for themselves.

It's true, money talks. We can't change that. But it can be used to our advantage to turn the tables to get what's needed by using that very philosophy. No Preakness? No money. Lets get used to saying that.