Renovating Pimlico Race Course Would Cost Around $300M, Study Says
by
Wcbm
Pimlico Race Course needs to be redeveloped at a cost between $250 million and $320 million to assure the 147-year-old north Baltimore facility remains a suitable home for the Preakness but questions loom about who might pay for it.
A widely anticipated study released Friday by the Maryland Stadium Authority lays out a tentative plan to renovate the track’s clubhouse and grandstand, replace the backstretch barn area with parking and create a new stable area complete with a tree-lined pedestrian promenade.
The study makes no recommendation about whether Pimlico should be rehabilitated, but lawmakers and the track operator say they’re ready for serious discussions about who might pay for the project. Those talks could determine whether Pimlico continues to host the Preakness each May. The second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, Preakness is the state’s largest sporting event, one that drew a record crowd of 135,256 and generated $94.1 million in betting handle last year.
