Park and planning officials have asked the Maryland Stadium Authority to conduct a new study of the Show Place Arena and equestrian center in Upper Marlboro. The $40,000 study, which the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission has pledged to fund, would provide officials managing the arena and the accompanying Prince George’s Equestrian Center the first comprehensive study of the facilities since the early 1990s, according to a letter from Ronnie Gathers, director of the planning commission. The study also would examine the arena’s financial operations and recommend ways to cut costs.
The stadium authority’s board is scheduled to meet Tuesday afternoon, when they will vote on whether to conduct the study.
“It needs upgrades. The track is not being kept up, the stables are not being kept up,” said Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., D-Prince George’s. “If there’s value in that arena and value for the equine industry we need to know.”
The planning commission, which owns and operates the arena and the equestrian center, provided nearly $4 million in subsidies in fiscal 2010 to keep the arena and equestrian center afloat, according to Gathers’ letter.
Management of the arena came under scrutiny this summer, when auditors reviewed more than $1 million in spending for irregularities, many which were made by the arena’s former manager, William Chambers.
A stadium authority report could determine the correct use for the track and arena – whether it should focus on its existing events or overhaul the arena’s mission and target market, Miller said.
Most importantly, the arena must find away to be self-sustaining, he said.
“[The planning commission] shouldn’t be subsidizing anything,” Miller said. “It should be made to pay for itself. There’s got to be a very positive return on your investment. It can’t be a hole you throw money down.”
The facilities host equestrian events, rodeos and trade shows, as well as the annual county fair, and the arena hosts 30 high school graduations for Prince George’s County each year.
