As the Baltimore Orioles and the Maryland Stadium Authority continue to discuss the future of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the pair agreed to a lease extension through 2023.
In addition, the Orioles retain the right to exercise a one-time, five-year extension by February 1, 2023.
“The Maryland Stadium Authority is pleased that the Lease discussions have resulted in this Amendment to the Agreement regarding Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Baltimore Orioles have stated publicly that they remain committed to Baltimore and to Maryland. The MSA and the Orioles are currently discussing terms of a new lease and capital reinvestment that would keep the team playing in an upgraded Oriole Park at Camden Yards that would offer increased economic benefits from both baseball and year-round, non-baseball uses,” said Thomas Kelso, Chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority, in a press statement.
The decision to extend the lease comes at a transitional time for the Orioles: Orioles Chairman and CEO John Angelos has been approved as the Baltimore Orioles control person and franchise buyers are in the wings, with Peter Angelos 91 years old and reportedly in declining health. You probably won’t see a sale while Peter Angelos is still with us, however, but the timing is certainly up in the air, and that uncertainty means that any final decisions on upgrades to the ballpark and the surrounding area–such as the addition of an entertainment district outside the ballpark proper–will be on hold. Hence the lease extension.
“The Orioles partnership group that has managed Oriole Park to this spectacular level of returned economic impact are native Marylanders with a vision of continuing our long-term commitment as economic development and community contributors for generations to come. At a moment when we are all coming together to meet the public health and economic challenges brought by the COVID-19 crisis, today’s partnership extension by the MSA and the Orioles is an important collaborative step as the Chairman and Board of the Maryland Stadium Authority join together with the Chairman and Leadership of the Baltimore Orioles Limited Partnership group in fulfilling our aligned vision,” Angelos said via press statement.
RELATED STORIES: Future of Orioles ownership in transitional time; Orioles, stadium authority negotiating new Oriole Park lease; Baltimore Orioles Planning Oriole Park Future