The Baltimore Orioles will call Camden Yards home for at least another three decades. During Thursday night's home game against the Boston Red Sox (GameTracker), the team announced on the scoreboard that the Orioles and Maryland Governor Wes Moore have agreed to a new 30-year lease to keep the team in Camden Yards. The current lease was set to expire this Dec. 31.
"Earlier today, the Orioles, Governor Wes Moore and the State of Maryland, and the Maryland Stadium Authority agreed to a deal that will keep the Orioles in Baltimore and at Camden Yards for at least the next 30 years!!" the scoreboard announcement said.
The new lease agreement includes two five-year options that extend into the 2060s, according to the Baltimore Banner.
"The Baltimore Orioles are an institution and an irreplaceable member of the collective family that makes up Charm City. I am extremely pleased that under this agreement, they will continue to call Oriole Park at Camden Yards -- the ballpark that forever changed baseball -- home for another generation," Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott said in a statement. "I want to thank John Angelos and the entire Orioles organization for continuing to be a team not only in Baltimore, but of Baltimore. I also want to thank Governor Moore, Maryland Stadium Authority Chair Craig Thompson, and the entire team at the state for their great work ensuring our Orioles remain in Baltimore. I look forward to working with them and all of our partners as we embark on the next steps to modernize Oriole Park and the surrounding area into the best version of itself."
Earlier this month, Orioles CEO John Angelos said "we're going to have 30 more (years in Baltimore)" as rumors swirled that he preferred to move the team to Nashville. The sons of owner Peter Angelos, who has not been involved with the team while battling illness the last few years, were entangled in a legal battle, and at one point an investment bank was hired to assess a potential sale.
Last year, the state approved $1.2 billion -- $600 million each -- to improve Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. Earlier this year it was reported Angelos was seeking additional taxpayer funds to build a ballpark village around Camden Yards, am unrealistic request due to the fact that the land around the stadium is already occupied.
Orioles Park at Camden Yards opened in 1992 and is an iconic venue. It marked the return of the retro-style ballpark and the end of the cookie cutter era. The O's enter play Thursday in first place in the AL East at 99-59. They will clinch the division title with their next win or the next Tampa Bay Rays loss.
