One of yesterday’s top stories was a Bloomberg report that private equity mogul David Rubenstein had been in contact with the Angelos family about purchasing some portion of the Orioles. It comes at a time of ongoing uncertainty about the franchise’s lease at Camden Yards, which runs through December 31.
In late September, the Orioles and the Maryland governor’s office jointly announced a non-binding memorandum of understanding that would, if approved, extend the Camden Yards lease by 30 years. As part of that framework, the O’s would receive a 99-year development rights agreement to build around the stadium with visions of a ballpark village.
That latter aspect has found some pushback in the state legislature. Rubenstein’s reported discussions about the franchise only made the situation more complex. State senator Bill Ferguson released a statement on Friday afternoon expressing opposition to the memorandum.
“Fundamentally, I believe that the long-term lease for the use of the ballpark should not be conditioned on whether or not a private owner receives a 99-year ground lease to develop land owned by Maryland taxpayers. This is more relevant today, as recent news has heightened uncertainties about the future ownership of the team,” Ferguson said (via the Associated Press).
Jeff Barker, Hayes Gardner and Emily Opilo of the Baltimore Sun write that while the governor’s office and the Orioles had reached a tentative 30-year lease agreement, the governor has put that on hold in response to Ferguson’s comments. According to the Sun, the governor’s office had been briefing elected officials about the framework of the lease agreement as recently as this morning. Once Ferguson made his statement in the afternoon, the governor’s office reversed course and halted the deal. Neither the governor nor the Orioles made any public announcement.
Whether Ferguson would have intervened if not for the reported discussions between Rubenstein and the Angelos family isn’t clear. (The Sun notes that Ferguson had expressed opposition to giving the O’s land development rights as far as back as August.) Still, it seems the Bloomberg report played some role in the renewed opposition. Andy Kostka and Pamela Wood of The Baltimore Banner write that Ferguson’s concerns were heightened by the possibility of an ownership change.
To that end, the Angelos family has sought to downplay that possibility. Kostka and Wood report that O’s chairman John Angelos spoke with Maryland governor Wes Moore on Thursday night and reassured him the family had no plans to sell a majority stake in the franchise. The Sun observes that the Angelos family would be subject to notable capital gains taxes if they sell while longtime owner Peter Angelos, 94, remains alive.
The respective reports from The Sun and The Banner contain myriad details about the lease framework that seemed to be in place before the governor’s office’s change of heart. Next steps aren’t entirely clear, but it stands to reason the sides will act quickly to try to modify the agreement to overcome the legislature’s objections before year’s end.
Can we get a new poll going? Where is Ohtani going to sign? Please & Thanks!
I’ve heard enough about Ohtani without his name being brought up on posts completely unrelated to him. If you want an Ohtani poll, go post one on your Facebook page.
My apologies
..I thought all threads were concerning Shohei tonight. Forgive me?
Goes against my baseball fandom rule #2: I never forgive a dodgers fan for anything.
I’m a dodgers fan from Maryland and we’re not all like this, please forgive this man.
And truthfully, I sincerely hope the Dodgers DO NOT get Ohtani, we wouldn’t be competitive until his contract expired.
Dodgers will be fine. Tons of talent in the system
Given the recent progress of the O’s on the field and as a baseball operation, it sounds like the Angelos family is sticking true to its nature. They are screwing up a wet dream.
They appear to feel that Patriarch Peter is not long for this world and are getting ready to sell after his demise. Meanwhile there are little matters like renewing their stadium lease by the end of the year that they are letting slide, especially the favorable concessions bequeathing development rights. Boneheads to the core.
contract will be signed. John A wants his cut of the $600BN from the state.
State of Maryland playing politics again. Trying to screw-up a good thing.
Actually sounds shady on the part of ownership.
If Camden Yards belongs to the taxpayers then why should team owners decide what is and isn’t built around the ballpark for the next 99 years?
Or, just a thought, they had an agreement and now the state is backing out as soon as they see a chance. Sounds like ownership was negotiating in good faith. The state changed the rules.
Im just an outside observer and know nothing about the city of Baltimore. The article states it was a recent non binding agreement. Seems like a pretty big stipulation to me. It would be one thing if they were a winning franchise but they haven’t been to the World Series since 83. Just one man’s opinion. Perhaps residents and fans feel differently. I’d like to see them reach a fair agreement. It’s good for baseball and it looks like an awesome ballpark.
It isn’t.
Absolutely not, one of the most important aspects of the stadium deals is something no one had discussed which is the ravens and orioles have a parity clause in the deals with the Maryland Stadium Authority. Angelos is pushing for this redevelopment because then the state would have to allow the ravens to do the exact same thing or then they would be in violation of that lease.
The Ravens have been opposed to this plan from Angelos from the jump because this development would also kill the parking and tailgating at ravens games from the jump.
Anyone who thinks John Angelos is negotiating in good faith is an idiot, he’s trying to to everything he can to move this team
Doubtful. Angelos is trying to maximize the sale because he wants to inherit more money due to the fact he is qualified for no jobs. Daddy paid for diplomas. He failed the bar exam multiple times.
John Angelos has never negotiated in good faith. From an insider: “Negotiating with John Angelos is like stapling jello to the wall.”
Every time the State thought they were making progress with negotiations, John would wriggle out of it and they’d be back to square one.
The City of Baltimore is not involved in negotiations. The Camden Yards complex is owned by the State.
It is a fantastic ballpark and is in great shape; I walked through the bowels of the stadium and the warehouse multiple times this year and last. I guess people want a bigger jumbotron. And they will likely open some of the concourse so people can watch the game while they order crabcakes. Not sure what they will do with the rest of the $600BN.
Not discussed in these comments but detailed in other MLBTR comment threads. If the State were to build on the current parking lots, it would almost certainly tear down the business parks that sit on State land to the west of Russell St. and convert them to parking lots.
Simple answer. Braves cut a deal to get that from Cobb County and moved out of Atlanta. Every owner wants the Battery. Not just about money but also the fan experience and safety. And Nashville’s already offering it.
No one appreciates that it may also be good for Baltimore.
So you’re a Braves…. And Orioles fan? Pick a team.
Sounds like the state legislature is trying to actually do their job in looking after the interests of Maryland taxpayers.
Regardless of who is right in this particular case, refreshing to see a legislature that isn’t spending its time interfering with private choices, banning books, imposing religious views, defending white nationalism, etc.
Sounds like they’re going to sell a minority stake to Rubenstein, and once Peter Angelos passes, the remainder to a majority stake afterwards. Anything to avoid the capital gains tax.
Which is fine, but stop holding up the 30-year lease. Sign that and figure out the land development after.
If they sign the lease, their leverage for the land development is gone. I don’t like it either, but once they sign that lease, their chance at land development is gone.
They should t be the ones developing the land for free. Let small business owners do that
One legislator would not be enough to block the lease and the Governor has not announced that it is off.
@Sheetz
This is the most cogent reply I’ve read and exactly how I feel this is going to go down.
Peter’s wishes have been reported to be that the team is sold at his passing so his widow can enjoy the wealth they’d amassed together. A sale post passing has huge tax benefits and also fits in dad’s wishes. John can go take his inheritance and bring in music acts to Nashville or get treatment for his diarrhea of the mouth condition.
Rubenstein can’t possibly be as awful as John has been.
Sign the lease to unlock the stadium improvement funds and get work underway ASAP in the off season. They negotiate the 99 year Hong Kong lease later. Ideally, the state of MD tells them to pound sand on that. They’ll be plenty of profit at the sale without also winning a land development leasehold.
John sucks ass. But Rubenstein could be as bad/worse, considering he has made his money by extracting value out of acquired businesses. As bad a J.A. is, at least he hired Elias.
The O’s ownership will discreetly pay some kickbacks towards the politicians “bucking” the process’ pet projects, that get repackaged back up to them as “grease payments, given to the pols to expedite this taxpayer funded atrocity and they’ll announce some inane deal that perplexes taxpayers, at a time the dollar continues to tank in value. Then, the Baltimore media will fawn over how great Moore is, ignoring the cost that We The People foot. Well, using history as a guide, that’s how this will play out, it’s par for the course at hand.
They should move the team OUT of the dilapidated Baltimore into a nicer suburb, like the Braves did. They may be called Atlanta, they are no longer there.
TL; DR? Wes Moore is a joke, he hasn’t built or accomplished anything of real value. The least qualified are thrusted into powerful positions because they’re easy to control. We will foot the bill, Moore will get lifetime tickets or a box or something of value for giving our taxdollars away, as will the pols involved in voting to give a billion dollar franchise, our money to ensure millionaires can play baseball in a pretty new stadium.
There is no better place in the burbs to move the team. It will stay downtown. The area around OPACY is big money, not dilapidated.
Keep extending the existing lease until Mr. Angelos passes?
By the way, Bloomberg is a heck of a source. That’s Michael Bloomberg. To date, he’s gifted 3.3 billion in donations to John Hopkins, Baltimore City’s largest employer. Hmm.
Donating to Hopkins is a bad thing?
He’s an alumnus of Johns Hopkins. Wealthy alumni love to give big money to their old colleges. It’s their thing.
I know but i asked why it is a bad thing that Bloomberg donates to JHU? Sure sounds like Jeff thinks there is something wrong with it by the tone of his comment.