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The All-Star break ends today. The new Orioles lease at Camden Yards has not been signed.
In a joint statement from the Orioles and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore issued Thursday, the parties insist progress is being made toward securing the Orioles’ long-term future in Baltimore at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
“We’ve laid the groundwork for success, and progress is also being made on our vision to expand and revitalize the Camden Yards campus,” the statement read. “We are determined to make it happen, and soon.”
The statement does not say what is holding up the negotiations, but does hint at the parties trying to agree on a large-scale project that extends beyond the ballpark itself and into the redevelopment of the surrounding area.
During a trip to spring training in February, Orioles chairman John Angelos said he would like to wrap up a new lease — which is set to expire at the end of this year — by the All-Star break. He called it an “All-Star break gift for everybody, really, in the community.”
So far, the only gift has been the on-field performance of the Orioles.
They had four representatives at the All-Star Game in Seattle and enter the second half of the season with the third-best record in baseball. Baltimore trails the American League East-leading Tampa Bay Rays by just two games.
But until a lease is officially signed, fans won’t be able to ignore the looming specter of the Baltimore Colts’ midnight move to Indianapolis in 1984. In February, Angelos declined a five-year extension option in the original lease, although he and state officials emphasized at the time they opted against the option to work on a long-term deal instead.
Angelos and Moore visited Atlanta’s ballpark in February to see The Battery, an area surrounding Truist Park that features ample bars and restaurants — and even a concert venue. Angelos envisions the area around Camden Yards developing into something similar.
“What comes next for the Camden Yards campus must serve our entire community and the city as a whole,” Thursday’s statement continued. “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.
“We have shared ideals to create a thriving and inclusive Baltimore, not just for the Orioles, but for all those who call it home.”
On Tuesday, ahead of the All-Star Game, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said he has “every confidence there will be a resolution on that lease issue. They’ll stay in Baltimore.” It’s much the same as he said in December, when asked about the progress of the lease and the long-term future of the Orioles in Baltimore.
The Orioles have called Camden Yards home since 1992. The park began a wave of stadium designs that took the best attributes of old-time parks and merged them with modern amenities. Once a new lease is complete, the Orioles will receive $600 million that the state has set aside for stadium improvements.
While the Ravens, who have already wrapped up a new lease at M&T Bank Stadium, outlined the improvements they plan to pursue with their $600 million in taxpayer money, the Orioles haven’t yet given specific examples. Instead, Angelos has largely focused on his vision for a “live, work, play” environment around Camden Yards. How that comes to be, though, appears to be a major hurdle still remaining in completing the new lease.
andy.kostka@thebaltimorebanner.com
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Andy Kostka is an Orioles beat writer for The Baltimore Banner. He previously covered the Orioles for The Baltimore Sun. Kostka graduated from the University of Maryland and grew up in Rockville.
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