In a September 1 memo to the Orioles front office, team chairman/CEO John Angelos said that he intends to sign a new lease at Camden Yards that would ensure that the O’s remain in Baltimore over the long term, The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Barker reports. The team’s current lease at Oriole Park at Camden Years expires after the 2023 season, though the Orioles have until February 1, 2023 to exercise a five-year extension that would stretch the lease through the 2028 campaign.
The team made no official comment on the situation, though Baltimore mayor Brandon M. Scott (in a written statement) said Friday that “time and time again about the possibility of the Orioles leaving Baltimore. I have 99 problems but the Orioles leaving Baltimore has never been one. The Orioles are a part of the breath, blood and life of Baltimore.”
John Angelos has also been vocal about keeping the O’s in Baltimore, which has been the chairman’s constant amidst a legal battle within the Angelos family over the last few months. Louis Angelos (like John, the son of owner Peter Angelos and his wife Georgia) recently filed a lawsuit against his mother and brother to try and initiate a sale of the Orioles, while Georgia Angelos filed a countersuit. Peter Angelos has been in poor health for several years, and Georgia will inherit the franchise in the event of Peter’s death, while John has been the organization’s official control person.
The outcome of these legal filings may not be known for some time, and it isn’t entirely certain whether or not anyone in the Angelos family will eventually end up owning the team. As per an August court filing, Georgia Angelos “retained Goldman Sachs and Jones Day to provide investment banking and legal services in connection with the sale of the Orioles,” though this could also relate to the sale of a minority share — past reports have suggested John Angelos is looking to bring a minority owner on board, while the Angelos family would keep overall control of the franchise.
According to the Maryland Stadium Authority, Barker writes that “the legal proceedings aren’t affecting…lease negotiations with the team.” Authority chairman Thomas Kelso said earlier this week that “no inferences should be drawn from the length of time it takes to get an agreement done. It has to be right.”
The five-year extension clause would seemingly provide the organization some extra time to negotiate, if an agreement can’t be reached prior to February 1. Even if the Orioles did enact that five-year extension, there would seemingly not be any reason the two sides couldn’t continue talks about a new lease that would then begin after 2028.
A new lease at OPACY doesn’t only involve the Orioles, given John Angelos’ bigger-picture plans for “redeveloping the Camden Yards Sports Complex into a year-round Live/Work/Play entertainment destination,” as per his memo. Such neighborhood development projects have become common in modern stadium plans, though naturally these more complicated deals must clear several hurdles. In addition to the Orioles, the city of Baltimore, the state of Maryland as a whole, and the NFL’s Ravens (who play at nearby M&T Bank Stadium and share parking facilities with Camden Yards) would all be involved the funding and development of such a so-called ballpark village plan.
I have never heard anything about even the possibility of the Orioles moving. They have one of the best stadiums in the league and a really good fanbase despite their inconsistent levels of effort every year. There are probably 10-12 teams that should move before the Orioles.
Then you haven’t been listening. The Baltimore market was already a small one before Washington got a team. There has been constant bickering over the broadcasting rights between the two teams since they moved here. The stadium is old and needs renovation. The fanbase isn’t coming to the games anymore because the front office seems fit to sell the fans a joke of a team every season.
In the end, it isn’t about the fans. It is a business. The next group to own the Orioles if they think the franchise can make more money elsewhere, guess what happens?
You’re right about the broadcast rights. Expos leaving Montreal was a bad deal for the O’s. The Nationals have been competitive because of a deep pocketed owner who signed multiple star pitchers to back loaded contracts, meanwhile Baltimore has only been competitive under the Buck Showwalter years 2013-2015. It seems Baltimore could be on the verge of contention, but .500 teams either get better or worse the next year. Royals and Baltimore both had such a small window of contention the last time they were competitive and Baltimore didn’t get the revenue from making the world series in back to back years.
Camden Yards is not old. Wrigley Field is old. Fenway Park is old. Dodger Stadium to a lesser extent is old. Camden Yards is NOT old. Just because baseball has convinced people that they need a new stadium every 20 years, does not mean they REALLY need a new stadium every 20 years. Camden Yards has another 40 years in it easily.
Camden Yards is old. Just because it isn’t over 100 years old does not mean it isn’t old and that it isn’t in need of renovation.
When was the last time you stepped foot into Oriole Park for a ballgame? Your post seems to be the rantings of somebody who hasn’t paid attention to the last season and a half of Oriole baseball or how the franchise has been turned around and just wanted to sound off about something you know precious little about.
Is that reply directed at me? I am not an Oriole fan, nor am I a fan of any AL East team, so no I have not watched many games. But that won’t change whether they win 55 games or 105 games. And I have never set foot in the city of Baltimore, nor do I ever plan to. I’m sure it is a great place, but I don’t enjoy traveling.
I don’t care what you think. I know more about Orioles baseball than every idiot who replied to me combined. I don’t care if you have a problem with the truth and refuse to recognize it.
You know jackshtt about the Orioles. You went to like three games when you lived an hour away in the exurbs.
The only upgrade the stadium needs currently is a new scoreboard. And if you are insistent about the scoreboard being state of the art, what kind of fan of the game are you really.
Nah, I prefer the stadium foundation to not be full of cracks. I couldn’t care less about the scoreboard.
I went to numerous games in my younger years and I know more about the organization that you and an army of you combined THINK you know.
I am a fan of the sport of baseball, I am not a fan of the MLB or any team any longer.
You know near nothing about Baltimore and the Orioles, country boy.
The reality is either way it was only mentioned briefly and giving the rumors any credence was probably not a great idea.
When the Orioles’ market included DC, the Baltimore/Washington market was fourth in the nation, so a huge market, not small.
And what is the Baltimore market now, smarty pants?
Try 24th or 28th depending on which source you want to go with.
It’s 20th as of 2021 according to the Census Bureau – bigger than St Louis, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincy or Milwaukee. But the Baltimore/DC area is the 3rd largest metro area in the nation now – bigger than Chicago. DC is less than 50 miles from Baltimore, which makes the O’s to the Nationals what the A’s are to the Giants or the White Sox to the Cubs. And still plenty of O’s fans in the DC area and Northern Virginia, not to mention the rest of the state and into PA.
How many Baltimore Colts fans were Washington Redskins fans after the Colts left town. Not very many. You just can’t give the Orioles the DC market because there is another team in that market. That’s why BALTIMORE’S market is listed as 24th or 28th.
Wtf do you get 24th or 28th? It’s 20th according to the Census Bureau. And I was a Redskins fan when the Colts left town — even before the Colts left town actually — until the Ravens moved in. And where would the O’s move to that’s a better market? Anyway it doesn’t matter, if the O’s left town another team would move into Camden Yards within a couple years. It’s a top 5 ballpark.
The Orioles OWNED the DC market for 25 years: Birdland, they called it.
You are factually wrong about the market size of Baltimore currently, which is not suprising because you are an idiot.
I have two different sources that give me the stat of market sizes, one says 24th, and one says 28th. If you don’t believe those sources then you can take it up with them about how wrong they are, idiot.
You also seem to be forgetting one key issue. They no longer own the DC area because there is a thing called the Nationals now in that market and they own it. It is their market now whether you want to believe it or not. So IF you include DC with Baltimore you have either the 3rd or 4th sized market according to whichever source you believe. You remove DC from the equation and that takes it down to 24th or 28th. Even if you want to say it is 20th, which it isn’t, that’s a pretty gigantic drop off and tells you how large the DC market is compared to Baltimore….which is my entire point. Of course a moron like you would miss that.
Cite them. Bet they are not US government sources.
I see you ignore it when I prove your point invalid and wrong – the Baltimore market was huge, before the Nats, not “always small” as you lied about. I did savor that you could not refute the fact I dunked on you with.
Sports Media Watch who used Nielsen TV market data: sportsmediawatch.com/nba-market-size-nfl-mlb-nhl-n…
And MLB competive balance draft picks which is based on a formula that determines market size and revenue. Only the 10 smallest market/revenue teams get picks. The Orioles get the first pick in the 2022 draft. They ranked 27th out of 30 teams in terms of revenue in 2022, so that must mean the market size is also extremely small.
Since I posted the links it is awaiting moderation, I didn’t ignore you, because you didn’t prove me wrong at all, as you will see. I also didn’t say the Baltimore market was “always small.” That’s a false quote and you really need to stop doing that kind of lying.
But according to Neilsen Tv market ratings, Baltimore is 28th. And then go to MLB(dot)com to figure out how they calculate competitive balance draft picks and realize that the Orioles have the number one pick. Don’t fry your brain too much thinking about how that must’ve happened.
You originally claimed that the market was “always extremely small” which I called you out on – and I was right. Guess you deleted or edited that post.
Baltimore is 26th according to Nielsen,
Yet Baltimore is still the 20th largest MARKET. Maybe Nielsen is paring off some of Baltimore’s market and lumping it in with DC. Makes no sense that the “TV market” would be smaller or larger than the real size determined by The U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
Your quote was “The Baltimore market was already a small one before Washington got a team” which is a bald-faced lie since DC was in their market and they were averaging 3 million fans per year at OPACY before the Expos were moved by MLB.
Stop weaseling out of what you said in print. Nobody needs to lie about you…except you yourself. And then you get proven to be a liar.
Yes, the BALTIMORE market was always small. There are only so many people that can fit in Baltimore. If you INCLUDE the DC market, Pennsylvania market, the Virginia market….which they never owned, then the numbers of course go up, as DC’s market alone is about 9th or 10th.
Because your market is only as big as the amount of people that actually support the team.
Yeah, it was my original claim, because it is true. You are including the DC market which the Orioles didn’t own then, and don’t own now.
I am not lying, you just simply don’t understand English.
The Orioles are 27th out of 30 in terms of revenue mainly because of poor ownership — because the team has been so bad for so long. That list shuffles from year to year based on many factors, including success on the field and market size. As an example, the Toronto Blue Jays are behind the Orioles in revenue on that 2022 list — even though Toronto is bigger than Chicago.
totalsportal.com/list/mlb-teams-with-highest-reven…
It doesn’t matter. I grew up 20 minutes outside of Baltimore, but the cities are so close to each other that my dad commuted to work in Washington DC every day. The cities are close enough to each other that we received all the TV stations from both cities over the air. The main airport in Maryland is called Baltimore Washington International — because it serves both cities. It’s less than 40 miles to drive from M&T Bank Stadium, where the Ravens play, to Fedex field, where the Commanders (fka Redskins) play. That’s a shorter distance than from NYC to the tip of Long Island or from Boston to Providence. You could easily spend your morning in Baltimore, your afternoon and evening in DC, and then be back in Baltimore by bedtime. It’s their proximity that makes them frequently considered a single market. But you’re right the two cities have different identities — as do Minneapolis and St Paul or SF and Oakland. It’s just that over time population growth and commuting joins cities so close rather than other, older factors that used to make them seem more separate.
Here’s a great reddit thread from a few months back about this topic
reddit.com/r/orioles/comments/uw7b0g/dc_suburb_bas…
All of what you wrote doesn’t matter. The Baltimore market is a smaller one and is even smaller now that they can’t “CLAIM” to have DC. What I said was true, and what I am saying about the market now remains true. Baltimore is a very small market. It doesn’t matter how close the cities are together. I brought up the point that when the Colts left town, the Colts fans didn’t adopt the Redskins simply because they were close by. They were BALTIMORE COLTS fans, not WASHINGTON REDSKINS fans.
Really…reddit? Don’t think so.
It also has to do with the market they sell to.
You just proved that the Baltimore market included DC metro from 1972 – 2004 when you said a market is who you “sell to,” thus the Orioles had a huge market.
Also, Baltimore was a big market prior, not “small as you falsely claim. It was the 7th biggest metro area in 1970 census and 6th largest in the 1960 census.
You need to embrace facts instead of your tender feelings. Facts don’t lie.
But most in DC did adopt the Orioles. A huge portion of DC population is transient and will support whatever is close by. Love the One You’re With. I have tons of friends from DC who all grew up Orioles fans; many still are – they did not embrace the Nats.
And a whole lot of Orioles fans live in DC, Pennsylvania, Virginia. So your claim about supposedly “owning: markets” is nonsense.
That stadium was one of the first of its type and is the blue print that killed muti use stadiums across America. Minnisota, San Fransicso, Pittsburgh, St Louis, all have stadiums designed after Camden Yards
And? Does that make it magically ageless and impervious to wear and tear?
Ah yes, the moronic wear and tear argument for leaving Camden Yards. As if Fenway, Wrigley and Dodger Stadium have no wear and tear. And Camden by this point is nearly as much a classic as those parks.
Why are you making an argument over something I never said? Of course the older stadiums need upkeep. Why would you think I would bring up the age of Camden Yards and the need for it to be renovated and repaired? Are you people only capable of single level thought processes?
You claimed that the stadium was one of the reasons why the team would be relocated. Own your words. Don’t be mealy-mouthed and pretend you didn’t say something that is in your OP.
You don’t know how to read or understand what you read. I never claimed the stadium would be one of the reasons why they left. You all claimed it would be a reason they stayed because of the amazing site it is. I merely pointed out the nostalgia has worn off and the stadium is worn down. An old, worn down stadium in need or renovation is not a reason why a team would stay.
OPACY is getting spruced up with investment from MSA, but it is flat out incorrect to claim it is “worn down.” The place still look beautiful.
Also, the word “nostalgia” doesn’t mean what you seem to think it means according to your usage. Try a dictionary.
Orioles will never leave Baltimore. Ever.
I would hope not, but you never know
They will in about 100 years. Mark it.
A lot of people felt the same about the Colts.
Bullshtt, every Colts fan knew that owner, Bob Irsay, was an alcoholic and a loose cannon who had been shopping the team to numerous cities over the past three years prior to the move.
Many Colts fans knew the owner was a flake, they still thought the team would never leave. Especially with the steps Maryland government were taking at the time.
Stop making stupid, ill-informed comments.
You are wrong. Every Colts fan was on edge about Irsay’s threats to move the team.. You were not even alive to know you are wrong. And if you were alive, you had your head in the sand, which is not surprising from you
Maryland government took no steps until after the Mayflower vans left town. It is you making stupid, ignorant comments because you do not know the history. You just make things up.
You mean the Browns?
What’s your point? The original Baltimore Orioles regrouped and ended up the Brooklyn Dodgers. Several years a later a new version of the Baltimore Orioles decided to move to the Bronx and became a team called the New York Yankees. Look it up.
That’s not true. The Orioles that were here did not relocate to New York and become the Yankees. New York was granted an expansion team and THAT team became the Yankees. Look it up and actually read about it.
Bullcrap revisionist history The A.L. Baltimore Orioles charter and the business side – the books – all became the Yankers. The recently invented “virgin birth” story of the Yankers has been thoroughly discredited and debunked. Try this website for reference. http://www.baseballreference.com
Baseball reference is actually the site that separates the Old Baltimore Orioles information from the Yankees. The Yankees that exist today are an expansion franchise, not the old Baltimore Orioles.
From Baseball Reference’s own site: “For reasons explained in our blog, we have disassociated the 1901 and 1902 Orioles teams from the franchise history of the New York Yankees. The two-year stint in Baltimore is now considered to be that of a separate franchise. ”
Do you have a problem with reading and comprehension?
They already did once.
Oh even the Baltimore Mayor is quoted
It must be serious
I wonder if I ever argue with him on MASN, that would be kind of funny
From a non-Orioles’ fan perspective, the stadium seems just fine still. I, for one, hope they never leave Baltimore.
Thankfully things are looking up for the O’s.
If your staring at five years of hundred losses from here , fans could be apathetic.
Really unfortunate. I was hoping they would move to New York and become the Highlanders.
If they do leave Baltimore, I could see Nashville as a city of interest? I believe they started building a stadium in Montreal to attract a major league team as well?
You would be wrong Hippy, the city of Montreal and the Province of Quebec were willing to explore the building of a new stadium if MLB was willing to discuss a split season with the Ray’s. MLB quashed that and so did the new stadium in hopes get quashed.
A lease agreement doesn’t mean a thing.
Explain yourself.
With MLB teams selling for 2-3 billion, a new owner paying off a lease valued at 5 or 10 million a year is POCKET CHANGE.
With Nashville eager to lure a team, 50 million to pay off the remaining 5 or so years in an Orioles or Nationals lease is a simple way to make your team a free agent, able be shopped for the most lucrative media and stadium deal.
MLB is not about to allow the Orioles to move anywhere. They want to expand to add two more teams and they want the best markets available for them. Then they have to decide if/where Oakland will move. After that they need to figure out what to do with Tampa and Miami. That’s two teams that need to move, at least, making four new markets to occupy…and there are only a few viable markets.
Nothing to talk much about here. A no brainer announcement.
Elias speaking on behalf of Angelos a month or 2 ago about expanding payroll was the news. The next logical step of the rebuild to have the Os in true contention by 2024.
Looking forward to when John and his mom pay off Louis. Bye bye Louie, bye-bye.