The Maryland Stadium Authority announced last week that it had chosen a U.S. Naval Academy dairy farm in Annapolis over the Fair Hill Nature Center, site of the Fair Hill CCI*** and numerous other equestrian events, as the site of the state\’s new horse park.

And the reason, according to a stadium authority representative, is simple economics. Anne Arundel County, in which Annapolis is located, already has 8,100 hotel and motel rooms, hundreds of restaurants and numerous tourist attractions, largely because of its proximity to the Naval Academy and to Washington, D.C. Cecil County, where Fair Hill is located, has only 1,090 hotel rooms, said Alison Asti, the authority\’s executive director.

In fact, many Fair Hill competitors and visitors drive just a few miles to Delaware to find hotel rooms and restaurants.

“We\’re supposed to be creating tourism revenue for the state with this project,” said Asti. “When we compared the [hotel rooms], it became evident where the most revenue could be generated.”

The basic plan for a new state horse center calls for building a 5,000-seat arena, at least 1,000 stalls, and eight to 10 rings.

While some in Cecil County were disappointed by the decision, the members of Save Fair Hill weren\’t. The group, which has been active since 1997, has mounted a thorough opposition to the plan. “I think it\’s inappropriate to use Fair Hill for a stadium, parking and lights in a rural area that\’s supposed to be a nature preserve,” Owen Thorne, a Save Fair Hill volunteer, told the Cecil Whig.