Greater Baltimore Committee Partners with Sound Diplomacy to Develop Economic Blueprint for Preakness

(BALTIMORE, Md) — The Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) today announced a partnership with Sound Diplomacy, a global culture and economic development consultancy, to develop a Preakness Economic Opportunity Blueprint examining how one of the most recognized events in American sports can generate significantly greater economic activity for Baltimore and Maryland. 

The Preakness Stakes, the second jewel of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown, has more than 150 years of history, a national broadcast audience and an established place on the American sporting calendar. Maryland now controls the Preakness intellectual property and is making a generational investment in Pimlico and the future of the state’s equine industry, while the Preakness Festival builds a larger statewide experience connecting the race to Maryland’s culture, communities, businesses and destinations. 

GBC’s work with Sound Diplomacy will build on that progress, focusing on the broader economic opportunity and the role of the business community. The blueprint will quantify Preakness’s economic impact, benchmark leading national and international models, assess opportunities for greater corporate participation, and give companies and institutions a clearer picture of how to invest in and contribute to the larger Preakness experience. 

“Preakness is already one of the great events in American sports, and we strongly believe it can become a major economic driver for Maryland,” said Mark Anthony Thomas, president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee. “We are serious about that opportunity. Our partnership with Sound Diplomacy is about putting the economic analysis and global experience behind it and giving Maryland’s major companies and institutions a clearer understanding of how they can participate, invest and support its growth. We want the business community to see Preakness as something they can help build.” 

“We’re excited to be working with GBC and the wider Baltimore community on the development of Preakness,” said Shain Shapiro PhD, founder and chairman of Sound Diplomacy. “The opportunity to leverage this incredible history and the cultural and entrepreneurialism in the region is tremendous, and we are genuinely privileged to be a part of the effort.”  

GBC has been advancing this opportunity for more than a year. The organization advocated for Maryland to take control of the Preakness intellectual property, arguing that state ownership would let Maryland retain the asset’s future value and connect its growth to tourism, sponsorship, business participation, cultural activity and broader economic development. GBC has since worked with state leadership, the Maryland Jockey Club and other partners to help shape that strategy. The Sound Diplomacy partnership is the latest step in that effort and will complement work already underway by the Maryland Jockey Club, Preakness Festival, Oak View Group and other partners, with GBC focused on how businesses and institutions can build on that work. 

“Preakness is entering an exciting new era and the opportunity to think more broadly about what this iconic event can mean for Maryland and Baltimore is significant,” said Bill Knauf, president of the Maryland Jockey Club.  “With the return to Pimlico and Maryland’s ownership of the Preakness brand, we look forward to collaborating with GBC and our partners to maximize its impact.” 

The Preakness gives Maryland an extraordinary platform to showcase our rich equine industry, communities, culture, and businesses to a national and global audience,” said First Lady Dawn Moore. “Our state is marking a new chapter in the Preakness legacy, and by working together we can leverage our collective assets to build a more inclusive economy and create an experience that every Marylander can enjoy.  

GBC’s confidence in Preakness is reinforced by broader momentum across Baltimore’s sports, arts, culture and entertainment economy. The organization has identified nearly $2 billion in recently completed or planned investment in those assets across the region, including a successful multiyear run for the CIAA Basketball Tournament, CFG Bank Arena’s strengthened position in the national entertainment market, M&T Bank Stadium’s growing role hosting major events beyond Ravens football, and the upcoming Sail250 celebration on Baltimore’s waterfront. That momentum aligns with All In | 2035, GBC’s 10-year economic opportunity plan, which names creativity and culture as one of three major growth sectors for the region. Preakness is positioned to become a major annual anchor within that sector. 

“We are seeing nearly $2 billion in investment across Baltimore’s sports, arts, culture and entertainment economy, and Preakness can be an important part of that momentum,” said Dr. Mohan Suntha, chair of the Board of Directors of the Greater Baltimore Committee. “The opportunity now is to organize the business community around an asset with national reach and build a larger economic ecosystem around it. That is exactly the kind of work GBC was created to lead.” 

GBC selected Sound Diplomacy for its experience helping major markets and destinations use culture, entertainment and major events to drive measurable economic growth. The firm has completed more than 150 engagements in 40 countries, including work measuring the economic impact of ABBA Voyage in London, an island-wide music, entertainment and cultural industries strategy with Invest Puerto Rico, and work with Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Museum on the Pop District. That experience will help GBC and Maryland’s Preakness partners examine how other markets have converted major cultural assets into greater economic activity and determine what can be applied in Maryland. 

The blueprint will examine what Preakness generates economically today, where additional value can be created and how more businesses and institutions can take part. That work covers visitor spending, hotel activity, sponsorship and corporate participation; opportunities for hotels, restaurants, cultural institutions and local businesses; benchmarking against major sporting and cultural events elsewhere; and aligning outcomes among the state, the Maryland Jockey Club, Preakness Festival, Oak View Group, GBC and other partners. The work will conclude in early 2027, when GBC will bring the finished blueprint directly to Maryland’s public and corporate community. 

Nearly 300 companies and institutions take part in GBC’s regional agenda, and the organization plans to draw on that network to engage CEOs, major employers, hospitality and tourism leaders, cultural institutions and local businesses around specific ways to support Preakness. The long-term goal is to help establish Preakness, one of three races in the Triple Crown, as Maryland’s signature economic event and one of the country’s leading annual sporting and cultural moments. 

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ABOUT THE GREATER BALTIMORE COMMITTEE 

The Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) is the leading voice for the private sector in the Baltimore region, providing insightful economic and civic leadership to drive collective impact. Comprising more than 300 organizations—including businesses, nonprofits, foundations, and healthcare and educational institutions—the GBC is dedicated to fostering the prosperity of the Greater Baltimore region. For more information, visit gbc.org. 

ABOUT SOUND DIPLOMACY 

Sound Diplomacy is a global culture and creative economy consultancy working with cities, regions, governments, cultural institutions and private-sector organizations to measure economic impact and develop strategies that use culture, entertainment and major events to generate economic growth. The firm has completed more than 150 engagements in 40 countries.