Birdland can exhale. Well, at least start breathing again, as the Baltimore Orioles, the State of Maryland and the Maryland Stadium Authority have mutually agreed on a lease that will keep the Orioles in Baltimore and playing at Camden Yards for a minimum of 15 years.
Full details of the lease will come out in a couple of days, as there are still conditions to be discussed during the MSA meetings in the coming days.
Some details that have been made public include the Orioles being given permission to sell the naming rights to Camden Yards. This was something the Orioles wanted that was discussed in the Memorandum of Agreement announced in September and something that was also in the prior lease agreement.
A key caveat of the lease is the length. At the time of this writing, the agreement is for a minimum of 15 years. If the Orioles obtain developmental rights to surrounding areas, including state-owned buildings, the Orioles then can extend the lease another 15 years to a total of 30 years.
“This deal is about more than just baseball. This deal is about Baltimore,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore said at a celebratory news conference in the stadium’s iconic B&O Warehouse today.
While the Orioles lease agreement remained in limbo up until the last few days, many around Birdland have patiently waited for the day a lease agreement was signed. With two weeks left until the original lease expired, the Orioles, Governor Moore and the Maryland Stadium Authority were able to iron out an agreement that seemed to please the board and other interested parties.
Comptroller Brooke Lierman was adamant that while she is a fan and looks forward to the Orioles getting a new veteran starting pitcher, her interest is protecting the dollars of Maryland taxpayers.
“I am not here to be a rubber stamp for [Orioles chairman and CEO] John Angelos or Governor Moore,” Lierman said at the news conference today.
The MSA voted 8-0 to approve the deal (two members abstained from voting). During the board meeting, member Joe Bryce said it was important to protect the state-owned stadium.
“Unlike anyone else involved in the negotiations, the MSA board has a fiduciary responsibility to protect the assets of the state,” Bryce said. “And as the governor spoke of many times, protecting that taxpayer asset, responsible use of state money, should be at the forefront of our arrangements with our partners, which is what the Orioles are.”
Some key points in the lease (the full details have not been released as of yet) include:
- The deal begins as a 30-year extension of the current lease, starting Jan. 1. The Orioles would continue to pay rent to the state following a formula that’s based on ticket sales and other revenue. The stadium authority would continue to be in charge of operations and maintenance of the stadium.
- The Orioles have until Dec. 31, 2027, to win approval for both a ground lease on the area and for specific development plans. These plans are believed to include the B&O Warehouse, the vacant Camden Station and the parking lot between the Warehouse and train tracks.
- If the ground lease and redevelopment are not approved, the Orioles could continue with the remainder of the 30-year extension, or they could switch to a 15-year commitment.
- The Orioles could opt for up to four five-year extensions of the 30-year agreement — keeping the team at Camden Yards as long as 50 more years.
With the new lease agreement, the Orioles can now start using the $600 million in taxpayer financed bonds for major upgrades to the stadium. The MSA will retain control of the contracts and projects carried out by the bond funding.
As more details arise, we will update this piece as we become privy to the lease information. At the time of this writing, the MSA still has conditions to discuss that will be addressed in meetings in the coming days.
The good news is that the Baltimore Orioles are here to stay. As the success of the 2023 season excited Charm City, the lease agreement will only add to the excitement throughout the state of Maryland and the baseball world.
In the words of Orioles Senior VP Greg Bader: “There is nowhere the Orioles would rather play championship baseball than here at Camden Yards.”
Orioles magic is here to stay. The Nest is secured.
What do you think of the new lease agreement? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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