Your (2024 World Series Champion) Baltimore Orioles Are Staying At Camden Yards For 30 More Years!
Finally. That is all I can say. Years and years of bitching and bickering, years and years of poorly reported "rumors" that the Orioles would leave, years and years of politicians and team owners fighting about little petty stuff, it's done. The 30-year lease extension was officially approved on Monday by Maryland Officials which kicks off the long-term extension between the team and the ballpark and is an awesome early Christmas gift to Orioles fans everywhere. This agreement is different than the time they announced it in the middle of the Orioles clinching the AL East. This is different than the time they said they agreed to a deal 2 Fridays ago. This is official, we got pen on paper. It's about damn time. We can put all that moving and relocating talk behind us, Birds are staying home.
It was never even an option that the Orioles would leave, everything ever said about it was made up bullshit. MLB would never let them leave Baltimore, the owners would never allow it, it was never happening. But now all those mouth breathers can finally shut up about it. It was a long, drawn out, ugly process that at times seemed like it may never get done. We had both sides throwing fits over things each side wanted, it truly was an exhausting process. But with more than 2 weeks to go before the self imposed deadline it's done.
There is an interesting note, it was announced as a 30-year deal but as of right now they are committed for only 15. If the Orioles and the State agree to a developmental plan for the area around the ballpark by 2027, the lease can be extended from 15 years to 30 years. It's well known they are looking to turn the area surrounding the ballpark into a Phillies/Braves type situation. So they have some time to work on that before the extra 15 years is tacked on to the extension. By agreeing to this the club gets its $600 Million from the state for renovations and such, it was also rumored that John Angelos was seeking an additional $300 Million from the state.
Last week it got ugly again when it was reported by Bloomberg last week that David Rubenstein was rumored to be in discussion with Angelos about purchasing the team. It seems like that move put the pedal to the metal, things have been happening since that. There was reportedly an agreement but then it was shut down by State senator Bill Ferguson who didn't approve it. It kind of looked dead at that point and we thought it was going to be a longer, bumpier road. Fast forward a week and it was reported that the MSA was going to approve the proposed lease. Then Monday it's officially voted upon and officially approved. My how the tables have turned.
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It's nice to have this finally over, no more stadium talk hanging over the ball club's head. The Orioles have a chance to win a lot of games and do some good things in the near future, they won't have to worry about where they are playing now. One thing still hanging over the heads of Orioles fans is the potential sale of the team. Before the lease announcement on Monday it was also reported that the O's and Nat's came to an agreement on the payments from the MASN lawsuit. It seems like things are slowly falling into place? With the news of the possible sale from a few weeks ago, could things be be coming together? Seems like suspicious timing with all of these things finally getting done. They were ongoing battles for years and now all of a sudden they get completed on the same day? Hmm, something else cooking in the warehouse? Thank god this is over and it's about that we will be guaranteed that the Orioles will be in the best ballpark in baseball for at least another 30 years. Now lets work on that sale and add another arm or 2.