BALTIMORE — The future of what some have called 'Baltimore’s Super Bowl' is in doubt as the state senate hears two bills affecting the Preakness at Pimlico on Wednesday.
The Preakness has been a Baltimore tradition for nearly 150 years and Pimlico’s neighbors are not going to let it go without a fight. Last week, the state house heard two bills affecting the future of the Preakness at the Pimlico.
RELATED: Two bills could impact the future of Preakness in Baltimore
A $420-million plan already has been proposed to renovate the Pimlico and develop the surrounding neighborhood.
The state senate will hear two bills which could affect whether the Preakness stays in Baltimore on Wednesday.
One is senate bill 883. If passed it would allow state funds to be invested not at Pimlico, but at Pimlico's owner's other track in Laurel and its Bowie Training Center. This would not only take millions of dollars in development away from Baltimore to Laurel, but the Preakness as well.
The other is senate bill 800. This bill focuses on creating a work-group to come up with a financial plan for the future of the Pimlico. If the Preakness were to leave Pimlico, it would come as a costly blow to Baltimore and the Park Heights neighborhood.
RELATED: The future of Preakness is at stake
It’s why supporters of keeping the Preakness in Baltimore will gather at the state house once again, to state their case as those two senate bills are heard this Wednesday.
“They gonna take old bay away from us? They gonna take the ravens away from us? They gonna take the orioles from us? They're not gonna take the Preakness,” said Park Heights resident George Mitchell.
Maryland senate bills 800 and 883 are scheduled to be heard this Wednesday at 1:00 p.m.
