PressBox recently spoke to Maryland Sports Commission executive director Terry Hasseltine about the success of the Maryland Cycling Classic and Maryland 5 Star, other events to look forward to in 2024 and more.
The third annual Maryland Cycling Classic, a 120.4-mile race around Baltimore County and City, will take place on Sept. 1. The fourth annual Maryland 5 Star, an equestrian triathlon, will unfold at Cecil County’s Fair Hill International from Oct. 17-20.
This has been edited for content and clarity.
PressBox: Do you think the Maryland Cycling Classic and Maryland 5 Star can become long-term staples locally?
Terry Hasseltine: We definitely think the Maryland Cycling Classic along with the Maryland 5 Star are sustainable events for the state of Maryland. We are trying to make them tentpole events that become synonymous with the annual calendar of sporting events, like the Preakness. We want every Labor Day to be synonymous with the Maryland Cycling Classic. We want every third week of October to be synonymous with the Maryland 5 Star. [We want] to continue to grow and elevate those events. … This last year, both of those events had great visibility in broadcast and international delivery as well as being a great content delivery for the citizens of the state of Maryland to attend and be involved with.
PB: How did the second Maryland Cycling Classic go? How did the event grow from the first year?
TH: This year, our broadcast having a helicopter in the air made the broadcasting component that much better — different viewpoints for those who are watching both internationally and domestically. We went from a digital platform that saw about 111,000 folks in the first year to over 786,000 in Year 2 on a digital platform, so that’s an increase of 600-plus percent. So obviously we brought awareness both domestically and abroad that the Maryland Cycling Classic is a significant competition worthy of the landscape of Baltimore County and the street racing of Baltimore City.
We tried to implement some new components and a new calendar layout with the Bike Jam, Night of Champions and the team introductions, which were all well-attended. The one thing we can’t control is obviously the weather. With it being as warm as it was, it created for a unique race day experience. With that said, [there was] great competition on the roads. More of the elite athletes made it into the city this go-around, so we’re seeing a better awareness of what we’re delivering from the race perspective. And the officials’ technical handling of the event was at a higher level this year because we [made] some of those modifications from Year 1 to Year 2.
PB: What kind of success have you had in developing awareness locally about the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill?
TH: This year, [there were] more out-of-state attendees than in-state attendees, which is a positive thing. That means people are coming and spending the night, staying the weekend. We did a lot of things this year that are a lot more family-friendly. … We definitely are making it an environment where it’s not just about the equestrian aspect of the event but also a family-friendly, fall-festival type of event. We saw attendance grow this year. We saw the viewership on television grow. We’re creating the awareness that we need to. Next year is really about diving in and getting it into the Baltimore market as well as the Maryland market in general and really drive that fall festival, family atmosphere.
PB: Was creating that atmosphere always the intention or did that happen organically?
TH: It’s always been the intention. We knew that we were going to host world-class competition. We’re only one of seven of these [five-star equestrian events] in the world at Fair Hill. We knew that we had to build all the legacy deliverables in and around the event — [with] shopping, with food festivals, with a beer and wine festival, etc. — [and] bringing in all the local flair of Maryland to deliver to the world. We knew that it had to be more than just an equestrian event.
PB: What is your advice for local sports fans who want to plan ahead to attend the Maryland Cycling Classic and/or the Maryland 5 Star?
TH: With children and small families, the Maryland 5 Star is just one of those must-do events with the family. From the Cycling Classic perspective, if you want to be up close with world-class athletes at the highest level, especially after the Olympics in 2024 as well as the Tour de France, those riders will be here on the streets of Baltimore County and Baltimore City. We’re going to engage more from a novice perspective with [what] we have planned around the Cycling Classic next year so it’s not just about cycling. It’s more about the bringing the community together, about bringing people out to have a really great experience on the roads of Baltimore County and the streets of Baltimore City. Be ready to see an enhancement of more of a festival-type atmosphere around the Cycling Classic.
PB: M&T Bank Stadium (2022) and FedEx Field (2023) hosted big-time soccer exhibitions the past two years. Do you have any plans in the works for trying to do that in 2024?
TH: We are currently in conversations with the Premier League, following up on last summer’s doubleheader down at FedEx Field. That partnership is continuing to grow. We’re in conversations about what the summer of 2024 could look like at both venues, M&T Bank as well as FedEx. Making sure that we’re laying out the right calendar and also making sure we’re connecting with the right teams and opportunities for the state of Maryland. There will be big-time soccer in the state of Maryland in 2024. It’s just a matter of dates and timing, and we should know that probably right after the first of the year.
PB: The CIAA Men’s & Women’s Basketball Tournament returns to CFG Bank Arena for a third year in 2024. What are you hoping to build with that tournament?
TH: I think every year since its inception here in Baltimore it has continued to elevate, the games on the court as well as all the community activities that go along with hosting the CIAA. Each year there’s just going to be added components and deeper enrichment of the cultural aspect of hosting a HBCU conference basketball tournament in a city like Baltimore. Each and every year, you’re going to continue to see that event grow.
We just got a recent extension through 2026 and beyond, so we’re really excited about the potential. It’s also an event that has opened doors to other conversations about other things we can do in Baltimore around the game of basketball and also the connection to sports and cultural opportunities. We’re really excited about the future of the CIAA and the collaboration that we have with Visit Baltimore in delivering that event for the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland.
PB: Is there anything else sports fans should know about heading into 2024?
TH: We have the continuation of other great events like the Preakness, the Baltimore Running Festival, the Ocean City Running Festival. There are so many youth and amateur sports that are coming into market. The state is rich when it comes to the number of sporting events that are happening in the state, both high level as well as youth and amateur. We’re just excited about being on the forefront for creating this content for the state.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Maryland Cycling Classic
Issue 284: December 2023 / January 2024
Originally published Dec. 13, 2023