Major changes

Since Camden Yards opened in 1992, Baltimore secured a new NFL franchise, the Ravens, in 1996, replacing the lost Colts. It tripled the size of the nearby Baltimore Convention Center in 1997; moved the Ravens to what is now M&T Bank Stadium, adjacent to the ballpark; reopened the Hippodrome Theatre a few blocks away; and opened the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor Hotel, which looms over left field, in 2008.

Horseshoe Casino Baltimore debuted several blocks south along Russell Street in 2014, and the city hopes to develop an entertainment district south of the stadiums, where already the next iteration of club and concert venue Hammerjacks is underway.

Until Camden Yards’ arrival, “a lot of growth momentum was going east towards the aquarium area, Little Italy, Fells Point,” Schmoke said. “What I said in the ’90s, which I think is coming true, is that the west side would start to develop also. You’ve got things like the Hippodrome. They are coming slowly.”

Some of that development also limited options for fans, said Janet Marie Smith, who has overseen stadium projects in Baltimore, Boston and Los Angeles.

“The kind of spirited neighborhood you see around Fenway Park in Boston, Petco in San Diego, [Chicago’s] Wrigley, in Denver — that’s the kind of urban energy that I think Camden Yards strives for, but it is limited by its big-box neighbors,” said Smith, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ senior vice president of planning and development.

Since Camden Yards was built, other cities such as San Diego have helped surround sports venues