The Baltimore Sun reported yesterday that Maryland officials are moving to pay over a million in unpaid bills left by the state-created non-profit entity that organized the Maryland 5 Star.
The article quotes Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA’s) board member Joseph C. Bryce’s comments at MSA’s monthly meeting on Mary 5 that: “We need to send the signal to Maryland businesses and to people who want to bring events to Maryland, that we’re not going to leave you hanging. We’re not going to ask for your services and not pay for that . . . We want organizing events . . . to know you can have a reliable partner here.”
The Sun quotes Bryce as saying “[t]hese are not our debts,” because the the nonprofit is legally separate from the Stadium Authority and the state, so “there is nothing that makes us pay these bills today.” Bryce said that MSA is acting nevertheless because it was “faced with either sticking to that, and letting Maryland businesses . . . take the hit, or stepping in.”
At the meeting, MSA approved an additional $400,000 grant to the Sport and Entertainment Corporation of Maryland to supplement the $1.5 million already appropriated in Gov. Wes Moore’s fiscal 2027 supplemental budget. The non-profit also operated the Maryland Cycling Classic in Baltimore, and had failed to pay vendors in connection with that event as well.
The move comes after the prize winners, numerous vendors (including The Equiery), veterinarians, and others, went unpaid for the 2025 event. Despite Maryland Public Information Act requests by The Equiery and several other media outlets, it remains unclear who has been paid and for what, although it appears that the prize winners and some of the vendors vendors have received some compensation. MSA is also reportedly auditing the corporation’s records, but that review has taken some time because the books belong to an independent entity.
According to the Sun, Terry Hasseltine’s recent departure from the Maryland Stadium Authority/Maryland Sports Commission was prompted by the financial problems created by the Sport and Entertainment Corporation.
