The Baltimore Orioles Major League Baseball team has reached an agreement with the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA) to continue playing at Oriole Park at Camden Yards until at least 2023.
The MSA has approved an amendment to the lease agreement to extend the team’s stay until December 31, 2023. The Orioles will have the right to exercise a one-time, five-year extension by February 1, 2023.
The amendment is contingent upon and subject to approval of the Maryland Board of Public Works (BPW). Once signed by the Orioles and the MSA, the amendment will be presented to the BPW and be effective from the date of that approval.
The Orioles’ previous lease commenced when the stadium opened in April 1992 and had been due to expire at the end of December 2021. The lease provided that the Orioles have the right to extend the term for one five-year period.
Since Oriole Park opened, the stadium has attracted more than 72 million visitors to Downtown Baltimore.
The Orioles opened discussions with the MSA over a new lease deal last summer. It was reported by the Baltimore Sun newspaper at the time that the discussions included the potential to open up the facility to non-baseball events.
Thomas Kelso, chairman of the MSA, said: “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.”
John Angelos, Orioles chairman and chief executive, added: “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.”
The MSA was established by the Maryland General Assembly in 1986 to build, manage, and maintain facilities to retain an MLB team in Maryland and return the NFL American football league to the state.
The MSA also owns M&T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, which began playing at the stadium when it opened in 1998. M&T Bank Stadium is located just down the road from Oriole Park.
Image: Keith Allison/CC BY-SA 2.0/Edited for size
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