Landes and Rich Neumann, the vice president of development for Mandalay Sports Entertainment, are scheduled to speak about the future of baseball in Hagerstown. The breakfast will start at 7:30 a.m. at the Plaza Hotel in Halfway.
Neumann could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The nonprofit Hagerstown Neighborhood Redevelopment Partnership has been working on a plan to revitalize the city's east end. A ballpark to replace the 75-year-old Municipal Stadium is part of the proposal.
In Dayton, Ohio, and Frisco, Texas, where Mandalay Sports Entertainment also owns minor league teams, new ballparks have been part of larger development efforts.
Johnson is part-owner of the Dayton team.
Mandalay has pledged millions of dollars toward the cost of a new stadium in Hagerstown, Richard W. Phoebus Sr., president of the Hagerstown Neighborhood Redevelopment Partnership, said at a chamber breakfast in February.
Asked Thursday about the Johnson/Mandalay development potential, Phoebus said, "I honestly know nothing about it."
As a postbasketball businessman, Johnson, through his development corporation, has helped build movie theaters, coffee shops, restaurants and banks in urban and suburban neighborhoods.
Johnson's Sony movie theater projects have a Mandalay tie. Mandalay Sports Entertainment Chairman Peter Guber was chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
In an e-mail notice sent Thursday afternoon, the Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce mentioned Johnson, the new partnership and the appearances by Landes and Neumann.
"Beyond the Magic Johnson deal, their presentation will focus on Mandalay's entertainment philosophy, the importance of minor league baseball in our community, and the East End Redevelopment Project," the e-mail says.
Chamber President Brien Poffenberger said Landes told him that a Johnson/Mandalay project in Hagerstown is "a definite maybe."
"Magic Johnson has done a lot of urban redevelopment around retail ... bringing vibrant commercial retail to blighted urban areas," Poffenberger said. "Mandalay, as a company, is interested in more than just baseball. They really see the value in developing a community around their property."
A story in the May 23 issue of Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal said the real estate venture could carry over to other sports.
"Johnson's company would spearhead the development of residential and retail projects to serve the increased traffic those teams and facilities are expected to bring," the story said.
Citing sources it did not identify, the story reported that Hagerstown, Dayton and Baton Rouge, La., are cities where development might occur under the new partnership.
No one could be reached for comment Thursday at Johnson Development Corp.
