development

(More) 'Beer here' on Opening Day

The Bullpen

Opening Day at Nationals Park this year may not include a win for our beloved basement dwellers, but it will give fans more chances to drown their sorrows.

The Bullpen, the outdoor bar, music and food joint that has operated across the street from the center field gates on Half Street, has announced plans to open a beer garden on the same block, according to the blog JDLand.

Nationals' baseball academy close to construction after delays

Story forom the Washington Examiner
By: Liz Farmer 01/03/11 8:05 PM
Examiner Staff Writer

The Washington Nationals are close to realizing their promise of bringing a youth baseball academy to the inner city -- thanks to the District footing at least two-thirds of the bill.
More than five years after baseball returned to D.C., a baseball academy in Southeast's Fort Dupont Park is expected to get the go-ahead for construction if approved by the city zoning board Thursday. The cost to build the academy is $13 million to $15 million, according to the Nationals. D.C. has authorized a grant of more than $10 million.

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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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New complex will help Coppin share the wealth

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By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

Derrick Ramsey, Coppin State UniversityWhen Coppin State University’s basketball team tips off against local rival Morgan State University in its new home Saturday, the crowd will be louder, the lights brighter and that new-building smell may still linger in the air.

After more than 20 years in Coppin Center, the team is debuting its state-of-the-art arena — part of a $130 million physical education complex many hope will not only help recruiting but will lift the school and its Northwest Baltimore community’s revitalization.

“This is an opportunity for the people in the community to share in the wealth of the building,” said university President Reginald S. Avery, adding the new buildings could host concerts, town halls and other events. “This is not only Coppin’s building but the community’s as well.”

Former owner says he has tentative Rosecroft deal

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
June 24, 2009 2:55 PM

The former owner of Rosecroft Raceway says he has reached a deal to buy back the bankrupt harness racing track in Prince George’s County — but the Greenbelt developer is still far from clearing another hurdle in bringing live racing back to the track.

Mark R. Vogel, who owned the track in the late 1980s and early 1990s, said Rosecroft parent Cloverleaf Enterprises Inc. has agreed to a deal to sell the track. Vogel declined to reveal the terms and referred all questions to Cloverleaf President Kelley Rogers, who did not return calls Wednesday.

The sale would need to be approved by the Cloverleaf board of directors, which Vogel expects, and the judge overseeing Cloverleaf’s bankruptcy case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland in Greenbelt. Vogel’s race track license would also have to be approved by the Maryland Racing Commission.

Vogel to push for ‘alternative gaming’ at Rosecroft Raceway

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
June 22, 2009 7:03 PM

Greenbelt developer Mark R. Vogel would reinstate live racing at Rosecroft Raceway and plans to push for alternative gaming there if he succeeds in buying the bankrupt harness racing track.

“We’re working to get a deal structured where I’m putting up enough money so we can start live racing next year,” Vogel said Monday.

He added he is also hoping for revenue from slots to start coming in next year to boost the track’s purses.

“So the goal is to show Rosecroft can be a prominent live racing venue again,” he said.

Vogel, who owned Rosecroft in the late 1980s and early 1990s, would not elaborate on what alternative gaming he was considering except to say he was meeting with community members on the topic and looking beyond slot machines.

Vogel in talks for Rosecroft Raceway

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
June 19, 2009 8:41 PM

A Greenbelt-area developer with a mottled past as the former owner of the now-bankrupt Rosecroft Raceway is in talks to again purchase the Prince George’s County harness racing track.

But the move could hinge on whether the thoroughbred industry will reauthorize the track’s right to broadcast and take bets on their races.

Mark R. Vogel, president of Mark Vogel Cos. LLC, has been meeting with representatives of the raceway and the thoroughbred industry for about two months to discuss a sale, said Gerald E. Evans, an attorney who is advising Vogel in the negotiations.

“We are trying to settle the long-simmering dispute between Rosecroft and the thoroughbred industry about the simulcast agreement,” Evans said. “If Mark can pull it off I think he’ll start live racing again ... and I think he’d be a terrific owner.”

Tracks draw interest from 2 prominent Baltimoreans

LIZ FARMER
Daily Record Business Writer
April 2, 2009 6:21 PM

With another Baltimorean showing interest in rescuing Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, keeping the Preakness Stakes from leaving the state may easier than solving the long-term problems of the Maryland racing industry.

“The state is going to have to come to grips with how to save racing in the state — we can’t just do it with keeping 40 racing days at Laurel and one race [Preakness] at Pimlico,” Alan Foreman, general counsel for the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, said Thursday.

A spokesman for Baltimore developer David S. Cordish said Thursday that Cordish plans to bid for Pimlico, Laurel, the Preakness and the Bowie Training Center, which Magna Entertainment Corp. has put up for sale. Magna, more than $553 million in debt when it declared bankruptcy on March 5, is accepting bids for its assets until July 8.

Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos also met with state officials last month to offer his help in ensuring the second jewel of racing’s Triple Crown stays here.

PG officials, team officials guarantee DC United will move to Maryland

LIZ FARMER
February 16, 2009 3:24 PM

LARGO — Prince George’s County and D.C. United officials guaranteed Monday that not only would the Major League Soccer team move to Maryland, but a new stadium would not cost county residents more Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson holding a DC United jersey.in taxes.

“I emphatically want to repeat this again,” said United Executive Chairman Victor B. MacFarlane, who alluded last week to the team’s commitment. “We want to be in Prince George’s County and we will be in Prince George’s County.”

About 100 people, including several United players, attended a news conference Monday at Prince George’s County Community College to hear officials detail how that was going to happen.

“We understand that we cannot ask for one dollar from this tax base,” said MacFarlane. “We cannot and we will not — I promise that.”

Del. Melanie Griffith, D-Prince George’s, said she wanted to dispel rumors that new taxes would pay for the stadium.

“That is not the case,” she said.