Baltimore politicians think a $1 BILLION convention center will fix tourism — while taxing the very restaurants and bars struggling to survive. People don’t avoid Baltimore because of a building… they avoid it because government keeps ignoring the problems right outside the front door. On this episode, we ask the question nobody in Annapolis or City Hall seems willing to answer: How many businesses have to close before leadership admits the problem isn’t the convention center?
Baltimore leaders say the answer to declining tourism is a new $1 billion convention center — funded in part by new taxes on restaurants and the service industry. On this episode of The Jimmy Mathis Show, Jimmy asks the question: Are Maryland politicians solving the wrong problem again?
From shuttered Baltimore restaurants and struggling nightlife, to public safety concerns, graffiti, squeegee incidents, and quality-of-life issues, Jimmy argues that people aren’t avoiding Baltimore because of an outdated building — they’re avoiding it because the city has failed to address the issues residents and visitors see every day.
Why do conventions choose cities like Las Vegas or Nashville? Is it the convention center… or everything happening outside of it?
Jimmy breaks down Baltimore’s history of expensive development projects, questions the logic behind taxing an already struggling hospitality industry, and asks whether government continues to prioritize flashy billion-dollar projects over fixing the fundamentals.
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Is another building the answer — or is Baltimore ignoring the obvious?