Gov. Moore, Orioles’ John Angelos promise new Camden Yards lease ‘soon’ after falling short of ‘All-Star break gift’ – The Denver Post

Orioles chairman John Angelos has repeatedly said that the Orioles will remain in Baltimore for years to come. Democrat Gov. Moore, a friend of Angelos’, has echoed the confidence, as have Mayor Brandon Scott and even MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.

The prospect of the Orioles relocating remains a remote one. But until promises become agreements, there could be a bit of apprehension in Baltimore, where the NFL’s Colts’ midnight move 39 years ago feels fresh for many.

The Orioles’ lease with the Maryland Stadium Authority, the owner of Oriole Park at Camden Yards and their landlord, is what officially binds the club to the city. In the lease, under the “no relocation” heading, a move by the ballclub is forbidden.

The lease — which has been in place since Oriole Park opened in 1992 — expires at the end of this year. In February, Angelos said he would “love to have [a new lease] as an All-Star break gift for everybody, really, in the community.”

Despite his hopes, the All-Star break ends Friday and the Orioles remain without a lease beyond 2023.

In a joint statement Thursday from Moore and Angelos, the two sides did not provide particulars on lease negotiations. Instead, they said, progress is being made on their “vision to expand and revitalize the Camden Yards campus.” Moore and the Orioles have previously said they aspire to “deliver a live, work, play theme” year-round at the ballpark and its surrounding area.

“We are determined to make it happen, and soon,” Thursday’s statement said.

In June, the Orioles retained the Washington firm of Cornerstone Government Affairs Inc., according to a lobbying registration form filed with the Secretary of the Senate’s public records office.

Lobbying efforts in the U.S. Congress will focus, the form said, “on supporting the revitalization efforts for Baltimore City’s Inner Harbor district and the entertainment district which includes both major league franchise stadiums in the city.”

On the other side of a lengthy rebuild, the Orioles are 54-35 and enjoyed the franchise’s best first half winning percentage since 1997. They sent four players to the All-Star Game and boast the third-best record in baseball, which they’ll put to the test by hosting the fourth-best team, the Miami Marlins, beginning Friday. With a young roster chock full of talent, the club’s future on the field is auspicious.

The off-the-field topic of the club’s lease with the state was downplayed by commissioner Manfred this week at the All-Star Game.

“I have every confidence that there will be a resolution on these issues,” Manfred said. “They’ll stay in Baltimore.”

Scott, Baltimore’s Democratic mayor, does not have a direct role in negotiations between the club and state, but he is in “frequent contact with both state leaders and with Chairman Angelos on a host of issues,” spokesperson Bryan Doherty said in a statement Wednesday.

“He’s confident that the O’s aren’t going anywhere anytime soon,” Doherty said.

The Orioles have played in Baltimore since 1954 and agreed to a 30-year lease at Camden Yards in 1992, with that agreement extended by two years in 2021. Angelos has long been adamant that the team will remain in the city for decades to come. Baltimore has a rich MLB tradition, one of baseball’s most iconic ballparks and, what’s more, the state has promised $600 million in public funds to improve the ballpark — a deal that has been denounced by economists for benefiting the privately owned club rather than taxpayers.

Lease negotiations have been protracted, though. In Thursday’s statement, Moore and Angelos pointed to the importance of transforming the area around the stadium; in February, Moore and Angelos traveled to Atlanta together to study the Braves’ ballpark district, which Angelos has cited as a model.

“What comes next for the Camden Yards campus must serve our entire community and the city as a whole,” the statement from Moore and Angelos said. “From the ballpark and surrounding neighborhoods to Harborplace and the Inner Harbor, we are committed to making the downtown corridor a premier destination that benefits Baltimore and Maryland residents year-round.”

The Orioles had the opportunity in February to exercise a one-time option in the lease to extend it by five years but declined, believing a set deadline would allow both sides to come together on a new agreement. Angelos’ hopes of a deal in mid-July were not as firm as the contract’s eventual completion, but the end of the All-Star break represents another self-imposed timeframe that has come and gone.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January, Angelos volunteered to reporters that he would reveal “the financials of the Orioles” and again said in February he would meet with reporters to discuss the topic “before spring training is over.”

“When I say something, like I’m gonna sit down with you guys, explain the business from my perspective, I’m gonna do it,” Angelos told reporters. “I’m not gonna say it and walk away from it.”

That meeting never took place.

The lease is a much more integral matter, however, as it is what formally binds the club to the city. Whether a lease gets signed this month or in December is not terribly important, but the Orioles are incentivized to agree to a new lease sooner rather than later because it would give the team access to $600 million in public funds to upgrade Camden Yards. Accessing that money is contingent upon a long-term deal.

Martin J. Greenberg, a Milwaukee-based attorney who specializes in sports law and wrote the 2000 book, “The Stadium Game,” said that the Orioles are “blessed with one of the best deals in baseball.”

“If I was the owner, I would jump for joy with this deal,” Greenberg said.

The neighboring Ravens similarly had access to $600 million in state funds and they extended their lease with the stadium authority by 10 years (with two five-year options) in January. M&T Bank Stadium, the NFL team’s home, expects to receive some upgrades by the start of 2024 and up to $450 million in improvements by 2026.

Angelos said in February that, with the funds, there would be basic improvements to Oriole Park — such as modernizing the air-conditioning system, for example — as well as renovated seating areas, a scoreboard replacement and development surrounding the ballpark. Specifics on those renovations remain to be seen.

The public money can’t be accessed, however, until a lease is signed.

Fewer than six months remain on the Orioles’ current agreement, although the team and stadium authority could sign another short extension. But the All-Star break and Angelos’ hopes of a gift along with it are nearly over.

Baltimore Sun reporter Jeff Barker contributed to this article.

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