Gov. Wes Moore on Orioles lease: ‘The Orioles will be here for 30 years’

Gov. Wes Moore on Wednesday asserted confidence the state will strike a long-term lease agreement with the Orioles organization, after the Maryland Stadium Authority signed a nonbinding interim agreement with the team last week.

“Mark my words and you can bet on it; the Orioles will be here for 30 years,” the Democrat said during a state spending board meeting.

The governor’s comments came less than a week after his administration electrified fans during the Orioles’ American League East-clinching win by announcing on the Camden Yards stadium video board that they’d made a deal to keep the Orioles in Baltimore, only to define the agreement one day later as a nonbonding “memorandum of understanding.”

“Last week’s incredibly important announcement was the product of diligent, thoughtful and monthslong negotiations,” Moore said. “We now have the final framing that was necessary to move forward with finalizing the deal that will keep the Orioles for 30 years.”

The memorandum of understanding made room for a 30-year long-term lease agreement, opened development rights inside the park to private developers, dropped the team’s rent and handed the Orioles control of stadium operations and maintenance.

Moore said attorneys from the team and the state were discussing final terms “as we speak” and explained that an MOU was typical for a deal of this size and price tag.

“They’re not only commonplace, but in many cases they’re prerequisites and a key step to being able to get deals done,” he said.

Later in the afternoon, Moore spoke briefly to reporters and reiterated that he thought the importance of the MOU wasn’t “fairly covered.”

“My comments this morning reflected what I think is a fair understanding of what that memorandum of understanding actually is, and I don’t think that has been fairly covered,” Moore said in the State House basement press room.

“We need to understand the significance of being able to pull that thing together,” the governor said.

He said an MOU is “very commonplace” in complex deals. The media coverage was missing context of the benefits of the deal beyond the ballpark, he said.

“I think what this represents is what is going to be fair to not just taxpayers but also getting all the other guarantees that, for me, were imperative for us to make sure that we’re not missing this moment,” Moore said.

Moore and his administration received criticism last week for making an eye-catching announcement many interpreted as a signed lease. Media outlets, social media and fans statewide echoed relief that a deal was done.

Fans have been waiting since 2021 for negotiations on a long-term deal to end. That’s when the state and the Orioles entered into a two-year lease extension after their last contract expired. Since then, negotiations with Orioles CEO and Chairman John Angelos have spanned two administrations.

So, when the announcement that the O’s were staying flashed across one fan’s television screen Thursday, Patrick Myers and his family cheered, and texts from excited friends lit up his phone.

He’s not so sure the celebration would have been as jubilant had everyone known the details shared Friday.

Myers said Moore and Angelos have put pressure on themselves to get the deal done.

“I think for them to put themselves out there like that, and especially having Wes Moore and John Angelos next to each other celebrating this announcement, I think they’re kind of on the hook for it,” Myers said. “But, at the same time, it’s details that are important. That probably should have been worked out before [they] announced.”

Lifelong O’s fan Joe Lyon caught glimpses of Thursday night’s game while he was bartending in downtown Annapolis. After a headline came across his phone that the O’s had made a deal, he said he thought to himself, “All right, we’re solid for 30 more years. I’ll be dead by then. And all will be good.”

But when told a lease was still unsigned he changed his opinion.

“That seems misleading to me,” he said behind the bar Friday afternoon. “And it doesn’t seem in the best interest of the fans to release a statement like that when there’s so much more to be ironed out.”

Moore made his comments before the spending board approved a $6.6 million contract for improvements to M&T Bank Stadium, the first contract approved since the Ravens negotiated and signed their 15-year lease in January.

Moore called the $1.2 billion investment in both teams “historic.” But the Orioles will have to sign their lease before gaining access to their share.

The money comes from taxpayer-funded municipal bonds made available only after a signed lease has been executed.

The pending lease agreement is “not just about a baseball stadium,” Moore said, but a “defining moment” for Baltimore, the state and the team to embark on a strategic economic plan.

The governor said, ”Shame on us if we miss the opportunity to partner with one of our city’s crown jewels, the Baltimore Orioles, and not reimagine how we can work together to actually shape the city’s future.”

brenda.wintrode@thebaltimorebanner.com

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