Developers are planning a new concert venue near Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium, part of a goal to create an entertainment district in the area.
The area surrounding M&T Bank Stadium–home to the Baltimore Ravens since its 1998 opening–could become an entertainment district in the coming years. Under a new plan that was presented to city officials last week, owners of the nearby Horseshoe Casino would demolish a warehouse across from M&T Bank Stadium to make way for a $50 million concert venue named the Paramount Baltimore, which will seat 4,000 and is currently expected to open in 2021.
The venue will serve a niche in the city’s concert scene by offering more capacity than Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, the Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric, and the Hippodrome Theatre, while accomodating acts too small for Royal Farms Arena. Plans for the concert venue, as well as a Topgolf facility to be developed on a nearby site, are part of an effort to redevelop the area between M&T Bank Stadium and Horseshoe Casino to create an entertainment district. Although the team is not involved in the plans, it believes that there will be benefits to new development in the area, with the destinations allowing for an improved gameday experience and bringing more patrons to the area on non-gamedays. More from the Baltimore Sun:
Ravens President Dick Cass echoed those comments about benefits to the city. He said a concert venue might not directly benefit the NFL team, but a vibrant city would be good for residents and the surrounding area, which in turn would support the team. He added that safety on game days has not been an issue, but he said more activity in the area would make for a safer environment on non-game days.
“This will be just part of what will happen between M&T and the casino, and it’s a real positive for the city,” Cass said. “It’ll bring a lot more people downtown, create jobs. … After games rather than get in their car, people can go see a show at the Paramount or golf or go to the casino.”
City leaders have pushed for new uses for the area, which is largely separated from South Baltimore’s neighborhoods by train tracks and road overpasses. They are calling it the “southern gateway” to Baltimore, and the goal is to improve the fortunes of not just the casino but the city generally.
Notably, the plans for an entertainment district come on the heels of major renovations to M&T Bank Stadium. In a multi-phase, $120 million project completed prior to the 2019 season, the stadium received new videoboards, corner-notch video displays above new suites, escalators, and more.