The Orioles remain without a lease keeping them at Camden Yards beyond 2023. In recent weeks, state officials have taken particular note.
Maryland Stadium Authority board member William Cole concluded the board’s monthly meeting Tuesday by expressing his frustration with the Orioles over the lack of progress.
“With an unprecedented investment of $600 million from the Maryland General Assembly, I remain perplexed why a lease hasn’t been executed already,” Cole said. Last year, the state passed a law providing up to $1.2 billion in public funds, which would eventually be paid for with public lottery funds, to improve the Orioles’ and Ravens’ stadiums.
Cole’s remarks come two weeks after Maryland treasurer Dereck Davis, a Democrat, put pressure on both the Orioles and stadium authority to come to a lease agreement, saying: “It’s time to start putting timelines out there so we can get this damn thing done.”
The Orioles have played at Oriole Park at Camden Yards since 1992, when the ballpark was built by the state. Since then, the stadium authority has acted as the club’s landlord; each year, the Orioles pay rent (an average of $6.7 million) to use the venue. The initial lease term was expected to expire in 2021, but the parties agreed to extend it until the end of 2023.
Before the season, Orioles chairman John Angelos said he hoped to have a new lease as an “All-Star break gift for everybody, really, in the community.” The All-Star break, however, ended in mid-July and Cole said “that deadline has now passed.”
In response to Cole’s frustration, stadium authority chair Craig Thompson — a Moore appointee — said: “I can let you know that the discussions have been very productive and certainly appreciate your sentiment on that issue.”
Previously the President and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corporation and a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, Cole joined the stadium authority board in 2022.
Angelos and Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, issued a statement July 13 that did not provide much insight regarding lease negotiations but said: “We are determined to make it happen, and soon.” A spokesperson for Angelos did not provide a comment Tuesday, instead referring to the statement previously issued by Angelos and Moore.
“What comes next for the Camden Yards campus must serve our entire community and the city as a whole. From the ballpark and surrounding neighborhoods to Harborplace and the Inner Harbor, we are committed to making the downtown corridor a premier destination that benefits Baltimore and Maryland residents year-round,” that statement said.
The Orioles (65-41) continue to be the biggest surprise in MLB and the best team in the American League. They recently beat the New York Yankees on ESPN’s nationally televised “Sunday Night Baseball” and currently lead the AL East, the best division in baseball.
“We’re in the middle of one of the most surprising and exciting seasons in recent memory and yet this situation casts needless uncertainty over the city and state,” Cole said. “As a taxpayer, a city resident, a board member and a lifelong Orioles fan, I’m hoping we can get some good news about this situation before we get to the playoffs.”
This story will be updated.
()