You'll be pleased to know that most reader feedback on Sunday's column, it turns out, was not all negative and sneering and laced with bigotry . . .

"This city needs to wake up and shout about it's current and potential greatness. We need a first class big league arena with or without the NBA or NHL. Big time concerts, NCAA  Conventions, U of M, Ice shows, circuses. We can and must do it!"     -- Russ Karpook

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I was born in Baltimore and have lived in Anne Arundel County for most of my 64 years. I think Baltimore is or could be as great of a city as many others in this country but the leadership continues to hold back on pushing it to its full potential. Please continue to champion this cause. Perhaps by doing so you may unearth some current day leaders with the same foresight that was needed by those that were responsible for the inner harbor.      -- Rick Schimpf

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I enjoyed your column about building a new arena for Baltimore.  I wholeheartedly agree that if we are to build a new arena, we should go all the way.  I'm a die-hard hockey fan (I love the Washington Capitals) and I would get behind an NBA team.  There's no reason why Baltimore has to be a second-class city.  If Cleveland can support an NBA team and minor league hockey, we can do at least as well. -- Zeb Snyder

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Baltimore has precedent in defying "logic" when it comes to attracting a sports team.  When the St. Louis Browns were attracted in 1954, it was at a time when baseball's sights were set on wide-open untapped markets in the west:  Milwaukee, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Yet the Orioles found home and success in close proximity to baseball teams in Philadelphia (both  the Phillies and Athletics at the time) and Washington.

Whether or not Baltimore can attract an NBA or NHL team in the near term, Baltimore could still receive some benefit from "putting itself out there" as a prospective home.  Tourism commissions and economic agencies invest in promotional campaigns and materials from time to time.  Perhaps such groups in Baltimore should develop some materials to advance Baltimore as an NBA or NHL destination simply for the publicity it would garner for the city.  When economically up and coming cities such as Las Vegas are mentioned as possible homes for basketball and hockey teams, it would probably not hurt Baltimore to be mentioned in those ranks (better that than to foster the incorrect impression that many have that it is some kind of rust belt city).

Other considerations:

The competion for programming between MASN and Comcast Sportsnet could provide a strong local revenue opportunity for a team in Baltimore (and MASN is in need of stronger winter season programming).

Another east coast team could make for attractive travel logistics for leagues that would like to give players an extended break from itineraries that otherwise involve long-distance jet travel (a New York - Philadelphia - Baltimore - Washington road trip could be attractive to teams).

The NHL probably has a lessened disincentive for expansion in that its national TV revenues are insignificant, so owners would be less impacted by splitting their share of national TV revenue with additional teams.  The NHL in the past year has even raised the prospect of expanding to Las Vegas and Kansas City.

While the NHL might be concerned about the impact on the Capitals, hockey in the Washington media has been treated as a fringe sport, almost akin to indoor soccer or indoor lacrosse.  If there was a team in Baltimore that was met with a lot of enthusiasm and a rivalry developed, it would legitmize professional hockey in the Mid-Atlantic and help Washingtonians take more notice of the sport (particularly of the Washington Post, in attempting to appeal to Maryland readers paid more attention to a two-team dynamic).

While Las Vegas is always prominently mentioned as an NBA or NHL site there are always two concerns that might be hard to overcome:  gambling and its impact on sports (NBA's recent issue with a referee) and the challenge of competing with all the over entertainment options in the area (and that a lot of people work nights and weekends in supporting the casinos).

I am a Northern Virginia resident that has longed for baseball in Washington, so I can appreciate the frustration when experts decide an area cannot support or should not have a team.  Again, I appreciate your recent columns to direct attention to this issue.   -- Glenn Bucek