While it would certainly help, the city doesn't necessarily need an NBA or NHL franchise for this new arena to be viable. Just take a look at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. It has hosted NCAA men's basketball regionals as well as the Big 12 Championship. Imagine how many out-of-towners and local Terps fans we could draw to the Inner Harbor if the ACC tournament were held at the new arena.

Do it now!

Your most recent column on the new Baltimore arena is right on. As a young Baltimorean who has spent the last 6 years in Atlanta I often wonder why quite frankly Baltimore isn't a bigger better city. I keep coming back to the lack of an audacious vision. Its as if we feel that we don't belong at the table with other major league cities. "Small-Think" is why we don't have a real metro, why our skyline lacks vertical height and why most people overlook a great city for other cities in the northeast. "Small-Think" has ingrained itself into the city's fabric ever since the Great Baltimore Fire. Both Atlanta and Chicago had Great Fires with the latter reemerging as a major international city and the former (Atlanta) becoming a major domestic city. With a new arena Baltimore has an opportunity to really reemerge on the national field. I hope that it is daring in design and symbolic of the new Baltimore. I hope that the mayor, the city council and the Annapolis legislators as well as Baltimore residents won't compromise on the size,design or location of the new arena. I hope that you continue to confront "small-think" in your column and I thank you for using the medium that you have to address this.

I think it's a great idea personally. If you look at the level of fame the city has (not from the Orioles mind you) from various TV shows and sports teams that we have, both major and minor leagues, we could definitely use the bigger arena to have bigger attractions come to the city. It would put more money in the area. I do agree that the city does tend to think it's self as a "major-small city." It'll do a lot more for the city if we get more headlining attractions. Regardless of the fact if we ever get another NBA team, fighting for one is worth the shot. 1st Mariner is really old & outdated. I love it because I can reckonize it from a mile away, but sometimes, you just need to move on and go on to bigger and better things.

I can't wait to see how this year's acceptance speech from Obama goes because frankly, an acceptance speech from a politician from either side of the aisle, delivered in OP@CY would be an unrivaled spectacle. Invesco is a nice stadium. New Yankee Stadium and Citi Field look like winners too. But OP@CY is still the standard bearer, even after 15 years and the now-obstructed view.

So, yes, build that sucker so we can get a convention in here. Convention at the new arena, acceptance speech at OP@CY!!!

And yes, get the ACC and NCAA mens and womens basketball tournaments in there.

MPSSAA state quarters and finals for boys' and girls' basketball. Towson, Coppin, Morgan, UMBC, and Maryland can all hold basketball and other indoor games there.

Ultimate Fighting Championship! If Newark, NJ can host the UFC, then Baltimore certainly can. And if not the UFC, there's (for the time being) EliteXC and Affliction. Maybe we can get an NCAA Wrestling Team Championship and see Gregory Kane spontaneously combust!

In fact, Baltimore should be hosting WWE's Wrestlemania! One of the top pro-wrestling hotbeds for decades should host wrestling's biggest event!

A few Wizards games per year, a few Mystics games per year. There are alot of events that we can host. In fact, I think Baltimore can become the home of some of these events.

But build the arena right. How are they going to squeeze 4-6k more seats into an area in which the current arena is said to have corridors that are too small? And that's before the suites are added. I'm all for a new arena and thinking much bigger. I'm just not sold on putting it right where the current one is.

I thought Gateway South was a better location, thinking just about building an arena. I understand wanting to revitalize the Westside, however, building a substandard arena might have the opposite of the desired effect.

Before we get the RFPs in there, let's have a sit down with David Cordish, BDC, and Ed Hale (but mostly David Cordish), and see where we should really be going with this thing.

And let's do it right, maximize our investment, and get lots of events in there.