Board of Public Works and Stadium Authority face bond pressures; MSA pivots training plans to Laurel Park
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Summary
DLS told the committee lottery bond coverage ratios are close to policy targets and recommended trimming the Major Events Fund; the Maryland Stadium Authority described a pivot from Shamrock Farm to Laurel Park for training facilities after environmental and cost concerns and said Pimlico remains the Preakness site with $400 million allocated.
Andrew Gray, presenting for the Department of Legislative Services, said the Board of Public Works's FY27 operating budget request totals $38.9 million, an increase of $5.4 million (16.1%). DLS highlighted that roughly 94% of the Board's operating budget is pass-through grant funding, noted an $8 million proposed grant to Baltimore City for a Computer Aided Dispatch system (which DLS recommended deleting because of alternative financing options), and described concerns about the lottery bond coverage ratio that supports Stadium Authority bonds.
Patrick Frank (DLS) then outlined the Maryland Stadium Authority budget and identified risks to lottery bond coverage ratios, noting that additional commitments could push coverage toward the policy threshold (about 3x). He reviewed Pimlico renovation bond issuances (the state is authorized up to $400 million; the first issuance was about $280 million and produces roughly $17 million in annual debt service) and expressed questions about Shamrock Farm as a training facility, including an MDE letter that DLS characterized as a fatal flaw for development at Shamrock.
MSA leadership told senators that due diligence at Shamrock showed costs and environmental constraints well above initial estimates, prompting a strategic pivot. MSA said it has a letter of intent to negotiate a Laurel Park acquisition with MEDCO and the Stronic Group; Laurel already has capacity for approximately 1,100 to 1,200 stalls, enabling a consolidation model in which Pimlico would operate as a shipping model with stabling and backstretch operations at Laurel. MSA said Pimlico demolition is complete and that work on tunnels, clubhouse design, and race-day overlay plans continues; MSA expects to return the Preakness to Pimlico in 2027 with an overlay event while the clubhouse and final infrastructure are completed for 2028.
DLS recommended reducing the Major Sports and Entertainment Events Program fund from $10 million to $5 million to improve coverage ratios; MSA officials and tourism stakeholders urged lawmakers to maintain event funding, saying major events attract multi-year economic investment and that reductions could undermine the state's ability to bid for large national and international events.
No formal votes were recorded in the hearing; agencies and stakeholders were asked to provide additional details about long-term operating agreements, cost forecasts, and the financial impacts of proposed program reductions.
