Hayes Gardner

Lionel Messi is set to play in Baltimore. Beware of field invaders. Dozens of fans have illegally stormed onto the field to get a closer glimpse of their hero, Lionel Messi, over his storied career. That poses a unique security challenge ahead of the 38-year-old socce...

Lionel Messi is coming to Baltimore. Beware of field invaders. www.thebanner.com/sports/lione...

Rare coastal blizzard fells trees across the Eastern Shore Downed branches peppered the heavily wooded community of Ocean Pines on Monday following inch after inch of snowfall.

A rare coastal blizzard whipped snow sideways at winds topping 50 mph and knocked trees into power lines and roofs across the Eastern Shore. www.thebanner.com/community/cl...

Snow covers Ocean City beaches as winter storm wallops Eastern Shore In Ocean City, the snow — more of a flaky sludge, really — began Sunday evening, and it didn’t just fall. Rather, it whipped through the air propelled by gusts strong enough to knock over pedestrians.

This nor'easter largely spared Maryland ... except the Eastern Shore. @hayesgardner.bsky.social and @jphotoj.bsky.social with the report, via @thebaltimorebanner.com
www.thebanner.com/community/cl...

Horses hanging out in the snow on Assateague Island

Snow at the beach in Ocean City. Weird, beautiful.

Maryland companies could see tariff refunds following SCOTUS decision When the Supreme Court struck down a bulk of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs Friday, it opened the door for companies to seek substantial refunds from the federal government for trade levies...

The Supreme Court striking down many of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs today could open the door for Maryland companies to seek substantial refunds.
www.thebanner.com/economy/mary...

Also! 75 years ago, aluminum-plated skis were invented in Baltimore by Howard Head, who founded the Head sporting equipment company.

Metal skis were invented in Baltimore. Now a local company is outfitting an Olympian.. Baltimore has surprisingly strong ties to skiing in the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Team USA’s Alex Ferreira will go for gold in the freeski halfpipe this afternoon — using poles created in Baltimore.

www.thebanner.com/sports/winte...

DC sports coverage -- it's happening
www.thebanner.com/banner-pr/ba...

D.C. United pushing for professional Baltimore soccer teams Baltimore is one of the nation’s few major cities without a professional outdoor soccer team, and soccer-starved residents have long pined for a local team.

NEW | D.C. United is pushing for professional soccer teams in Baltimore.

They’d need a place to play, though.

www.thebanner.com/sports/dc-un...

T. Rowe Price is laying off some marketing employees T. Rowe Price, the Baltimore-based asset management firm, is cutting some marketing jobs.

NEW | T. Rowe Price is laying off employees again. www.thebanner.com/economy/t-ro...

Under Armour says ‘most disruptive phase’ of turnaround is behind it On Friday, the Baltimore-based sportswear company released its most promising earnings report since Kevin Plank took back the CEO reins in April 2024. Its stock price promptly rose 15%.

Under Armour issued its most promising earnings report since Kevin Plank's return nearly 2 years ago.

"We believe that the most disruptive phase of our reset is now behind us.”
www.thebanner.com/economy/unde...

A cruise ship swap is coming to Baltimore The world’s two largest cruise companies have played musical chairs with their ships and, at least for the next two years, the dust has settled. Carnival will have a larger foothold in Baltimore City ...

The world’s two largest cruise companies have played musical chairs with their ships and, at least for the next two years, the dust has settled.

Carnival will soon have a significantly larger foothold than Royal Caribbean at the Port of Baltimore. www.thebanner.com/economy/carn...

The Banner announces expansion to Prince George’s County The Banner announced it will take its award-winning journalism into Prince George’s County this spring, continuing its ambition to serve readers across Maryland.

Hey, look, it's GOOD media news. @thebaltimorebanner.com and @bannermoco.bsky.social are coming to Prince George's County. 🗞️
www.thebanner.com/banner-pr/th...

How Baltimore is melting mountains of snow Standing roughly 10 feet tall and spanning a couple of acres, the undulating assemblage of snow near M&T Bank Stadium looks otherworldly.

Standing roughly 10 feet tall and spanning a couple of acres, the undulating assemblage of snow near M&T Bank Stadium looks otherworldly.

It’s chunky. It’s vast. And it needs to be gone in time for soccer star Lionel Messi’s visit to Baltimore next month. www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

Camden Yards after a snow

Longtime executive director of the Maryland Stadium Authority retiring With the retirement of Michael Frenz, executive director of the Maryland Stadium Authority, the state has begun a nationwide search for his replacement.

Michael Frenz, who has been executive director of the Maryland Stadium Authority for the past 17 years, will retire in April.
www.thebanner.com/economy/stad...

‘Snowtorious B.I.G.’ uses steam heat to devour snow at M&T Bank Stadium After blizzards in 2009 and 2010, the Maryland Stadium Authority had the idea to hook up steam lines to a dumpster, then deposit snow into it. It called the apparatus "Snowtorious B.I.G."

An apparatus powered by Baltimore's underground steam system — and dubbed the "Snowtorious B.I.G." — was again deployed to melt snow outside M&T Bank Stadium and Oriole Park last week.

www.thebanner.com/community/tr...

Random junk marks the spot in Baltimore’s snow parking wars To chair, or not to chair? Baltimore residents turn to children's kitchenettes, tiki torches and good, old lawn chairs to preserve hard-won parking spots as the dig-out from Storm Fern continues.

Household items are making their way outdoors in Baltimore. Do you save your parking spot after a snowstorm?

www.thebanner.com/community/tr...

Inside the sprint to distribute road salt after a storm The Port of Baltimore ranks No. 2 in the nation for imported road salt. A “truck ballet” plays a role in transporting it from a South American desert to neighborhoods in the mid-Atlantic.

NEW | It takes a multimodal dance to get shiploads of salt from northern Chile’s Atacama Desert to wintry roads in the mid-Atlantic. We visited the Port of Baltimore yesterday at 4:30 a.m. to learn about it. www.thebanner.com/economy/dist...

Despite tariffs, Baltimore handled record number of containers in 2025 More containers — the lifeblood of international shipping — than ever made their way through Baltimore last year. And the port set a record for ship visits, too.

NEW | Despite tariffs, the Port of Baltimore handled a record number of containers in 2025.
www.thebanner.com/economy/tari...

Lawn chair season

Snowstorm means extra cruise day for Carnival Pride passengers Carnival Pride, one of the Port of Baltimore’s two regular cruise ships, was scheduled to dock Sunday, unloading suntanned passengers and picking up new ones headed south. But the winter weather disru...

For roughly 2,000 cruise ship passengers, Sunday's snowstorm meant a longer vacation.

Nearly a foot of snow would've made unloading at the Port of Baltimore difficult, so a two-week Carnival cruise was extended one day.
www.thebanner.com/economy/carn...

How Maryland bought a $4.5M horse farm it’s not going to use The purchase of a horse farm, Shamrock Farm, involves a partner at Venable, the Pittsburgh Steelers, a Florida Republican, Gov. Wes Moore and a state authority that no longer exists.

The story of how Maryland bought a horse farm it won’t use involves a former Florida Congressman, a “prominent veterinarian,” self-dealing, a high-powered attorney, Gov. Wes Moore, a state authority that no longer exists and some trout.

for @thebaltimorebanner.com
www.thebanner.com/sports/maryl...

What to know about the smaller Sphere planned for Maryland The Sphere’s owner has been planning to create similar venues around the world. Content created for the Las Vegas venue could be shown in the smaller National Harbor Sphere, too.

The Sphere — that luminous, ginormous orb of entertainment ostensibly suited only for Las Vegas — might soon send a smaller sibling rolling into Maryland.

Here's what to know: www.thebanner.com/culture/thin...

Inside the Hanover office park where the new Key Bridge is being designed A nondescript office park in Hanover serves as the design headquarters for the new Key Bridge. As many as 100 engineers and project managers work inside to orchestrate logistics, map out the bridge’s ...

NEW | There's an office in Anne Arundel County that, on the surface, looks like any other workplace. Inside this one, though, engineers and project managers are finalizing designs for the new Key Bridge.
www.thebanner.com/economy/key-...

Maryland plans to purchase Laurel Park in horse training center switcheroo Maryland officials said Tuesday they have reached a tentative agreement with Stronach Group, the Canadian company that owns Laurel Park, to acquire the property.

NEW: Maryland state government plans to buy Laurel Park for $50M to use as a thoroughbred training center.

The state already bought a farm in Carroll County for that same purpose, spending $4.5M.

Scoop from @hayesgardner.bsky.social & @leeosanderlin.bsky.social:

www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

Maryland plans to purchase Laurel Park in horse training center switcheroo The state previously paid $4.5 million for Shamrock Farm in Carroll County

NEW | Maryland plans to buy Laurel Park from The Stronach Group and convert it into a horse racing training center.

This marks a pivot from building the center at Shamrock Farm, which the state paid $4.5 million for last year.

w/ @leeosanderlin.bsky.social: www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...

What will happen to the Savannah, a nuclear-powered ship? A historic nuclear-powered passenger ship has been docked in Baltimore since 2008, but it could soon be on the move. Savannah, Georgia, is among those in contention.

NEW | Hidden within the Port of Baltimore is a liner-sized, yacht-shaped ship that once housed a nuclear power plant. It hasn't sailed in decades, but still regularly attracts the nautical and nuclear curious.

Its days here, though, could be numbered.
www.thebanner.com/economy/ns-s...

How Exelon and Constellation influence Annapolis Exelon and Constellation are among the state’s top campaign donors — the second and third biggest, according to campaign finance records.

New: Exelon and Constellation are in an arms race in Maryland’s capital. With their deep pockets and small army of lobbyists, they’re in a fight to bend energy policy to their liking and to ratepayers are caught in the middle. W/ @adampwillis.bsky.social

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