The Baltimore Orioles clinched their first playoff berth since 2016 on Sunday and during the ensuing celebration, Orioles’ CEO John Angelos indicated plans to stick around in Baltimore for a long time in the Orioles’ revered ballpark.
“The Orioles have a 70-year partnership with the city and the state, and Camden Yards more than 30. And we’re going to have 30 more. That’s a given,” he said to the Baltimore Banner.
There have been concerns that this wouldn’t be the case in recent years. It was just last September that the Orioles hired an investment bank to “assess the prospects for selling the team.” Anytime there’s an ownership change, the chances of relocation rise at least a small bit, but there were also rumors swirling that Angelos preferred moving the team to Nashville.
Plus, the lease at Camden Yards expires at the end of this season, only fueling further speculation of a possible move. Angelos seems to have gotten what he wants in order to stay put, however.
Last month, Maryland governor Wes Moore said “there will be baseball in Baltimore for generations to come.”
“The governor did a great thing three or four weeks ago; that was great to see. All good stuff going forward,” said Angelos (via Baltimore Banner). There’s no word on what, specifically, Moore has offered the Orioles as incentive to stay put, but he’s been very active in supporting the ballclub lately and made comments recently about the state being committed to keeping the team long term.
Oriole Park at Camden Yards is an iconic sports venue. When it opened in 1992, it set off a wave of retro-style ballparks in Major League Baseball and, thankfully, marked the end of the “cookie cutter” era.
While it has only been three decades, it’s gotten to the point where it would feel wrong to see the Orioles playing home games anywhere else. From a baseball perspective, it’s a damn good thing the Orioles aren’t going anywhere.
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