I won't be around for the next Ravens home game. While I can follow the action on a flat screen in a roomful of fans, there will be a major part of my Game Day Experience lacking. It's not the kind of thing you can replicate in a sports bar because it requires the sights, smells, and industrial grit of 19th Century Baltimore. It's the pre-game hoedown at the Ridgely Street Fire (pronounced "farr") Hall, on the edge of Pigtown. I'm not ashamed to admit -- it's my favorite part of the day.
Much of the appeal of the Camden Yards complex is its sense of place, its connection with history. This theory has been upheld in numerous conversations with visitors from all over the country (especially the Red Sox fans that many find so annoying.) Camden Yards isn't just Anywhere, USA. It was a major hub of the city's industrial and manufacturing past, with many of the old buildings remaining on the periphery. When you're at a game here, you know you're in Baltimore.
The trains running through the complex are a regular reminder. So are the old warehouses south of M&T Bank Stadium and abandoned factories along the Middle Branch that convert very nicely to tailgate venues on game day.
It is this sprawl of revelers that present a golden opportunity for aspiring entreprenuers and organizations. In Sharp-Leadenhall, the neighborhood association has a refreshment stand with cook-out fare and bottled drinks. The PTA sells parking spaces. But the most elaborate fringe operation I've encountered is run by the firefighters in their union hall in Pigtown.
The pit beef and firehouse chili are cooked in the back, where horses were once stabled. A rooftop deck is the stage for a local radio station's pre-game show. Picnic tables provide seating, but outside most folks just prefer to mingle.
The historic building (my favorite part) is wide open, with TVs and tables to watch pre-game commentary. Admittedly, I'm probably the only person more interested in the architectural details. The tin ceiling, tiled foyer, slate mantles and original firepole are vestiges of a bygone era. There are still hooks where harnesses for the horses were hung. This isn't a toney theme bar, it's a slice of life, a visit to long ago in a company town.
On game day, it's teeming with fans who make it a regular stop before the game. The drinks are cheap, the company spirited, and the atmosphere classic Baltimore -- a mixture of personalities (and accents) impossible to categorize.
This operation is run by volunteers, as a fund raiser for their organization. They prepare and serve the food, staff the bar, and clean up. They seem to be having as good a time as their patrons.
There is a formula to calculate the value of sports and recreation as revenue generators, which we release in economic impact studies. It tracks monies spent on tickets, concessions, hotels, restaurants, and merchandise. They shake up these figures with a few multipliers, and determine how much tax is produced and how many dollars are circulated in the region.
But it is difficult to quantify the true impact of a major sports event on the community it surrounds. Yes, some residents complain about noise and parking. But to others, it represents opportunity -- lemonade just waiting to be squeezed from the bitter fruit. For every neighbor who complains about traffic, there is an entreprenuer who opens up his driveway or yard for all day parking and pockets the proceeds. Instead of griping about the noise and congestion, the firefighters recruit sponsors, partner with a radio station, set up a lucrative concession, and join in the fun with a rollicking block party.
In Annapolis, the Boat Shows are one of the biggest boons and worst curses of downtown life -- depending on whether you live or do business there. But for the Fleet Reserve Club, also located on City Dock, the Boat Shows allow an operation similar to the Ridgely Fire Hall. For the better part of two weeks, they open their club to the public, inviting them to drink at their bar and partake of the pit beef they prepare on their waterside deck. Club members staff the operation, and I'm told (although I doubt if anyone knows for sure) what they generate during that time covers a big chunk of their expenses for the year.
I wish someone would do a study, albeit an anecdotal one, of the enterprises who operate on the fringe of sports and recreation activities. Maybe they don't make a living off of this element of the visitor industry, but they certainly reap benefits and join in the fun. More importantly, they contribute to the experience -- part of the tradition and heritage that make Maryland such an interesting place to visit.
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