Orioles Put Pen To Paper On 30-Year Camden Yards Lease
The Baltimore Orioles have agreed to play baseball at Oriole Park at Camden Yards for at least the next three decades.
The team agreed to a new lease with the Maryland Stadium Authority on Monday following months of negotiations. The deal follows through on the goals established in a memorandum of understanding the state and team signed in September, the Orioles said.
The new lease permits the team to pursue its "desire to reinvigorate the area in and around Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the downtown corridor," according to a release.
“When we began conversations with the state on a bigger vision for the ballpark and the greater plan for Baltimore, we had the shared goal of reaching an end result that would benefit both the city and state. I’m proud to say we accomplished that mission,” Orioles Chief Operating Officer Greg Bader said in a statement.
“After a lengthy and complex process that has ultimately achieved the parties’ shared goals, we look forward to enhancements to Camden Yards that the Baltimore community can enjoy for decades to come.”
In a news release announcing the deal, the Orioles said the team plans to "expand, develop and implement an envisioned downtown corridor and Camden Yards campus."
The specifics of that vision aren't clear, and the development component of the deal isn't as final as the stadium lease. The team has the right to negotiate ground leases and redevelopment plans for the areas around the stadium, and a four-year window to get approval, The Baltimore Banner reported.
“What’s next is an opportunity for a campus that brings life to the city 365 days a year,” Orioles Executive Vice President of Public Affairs Kerry Watson said in a statement.
In signing a new deal, the team also unlocks $600M in state funds for stadium improvements the General Assembly approved last year as an incentive for the team to ink a new lease with the stadium authority.
The memorandum of understanding signed in September outlined a development rights pact between the team and the state, allowing the Orioles to secure and invest private capital in real estate development projects surrounding the ballpark. In exchange, the Orioles agreed to pay $94M in rent over the 99-year term of the deal.
The team's lease for the ballpark, which the Orioles have called home since 1992, was set to expire at the end of the year.
In early December, Maryland Stadium Authority officials told reporters the sides reached a deadlock over the Orioles' demand for the development rights or public properties surrounding Oriole Park.
At the same time, Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat representing downtown Baltimore, reportedly objected to elements of the lease, which caused Gov. Wes Moore, also a Baltimore Democrat, to rethink the deal.
Then, the lease saga took another twist after Bloomberg reported that Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein was negotiating to buy the team from the family of majority owner Peter Angelos. John Angelos, chairman and managing partner of the team, denied the rumored talks.
