Are we witnessing the death of the Orioles?

[DrungoHazewood]

13 minutes ago, Redskins Rick said:

I disliked the old location, getting to it was a nightmare, parking was absolutely dreadful, dont plan on leaving early, or even when the game is over, if the people around you, decided to hang out elsewhere.

To me OPACY was simple, easy to get to, easy parking, and love the stadium

The week I graduated from high school two friends and I drove the family station wagon to go see the O's beat Nolan Ryan and the Rangers.  Long before GPS.  We knew how to get there, but they blocked off 33rd St. going east after the game, so we didn't know how to get back.  We just drove south until we hit the harbor and were fine, but there were and still are some very dicey areas between 33rd St. and the Inner Harbor.  Especially at midnight, with three St. Mary's county boys driving Clark Griswold's car.

[Redskins Rick]

5 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

The week I graduated from high school two friends and I drove the family station wagon to go see the O's beat Nolan Ryan and the Rangers.  Long before GPS.  We knew how to get there, but they blocked off 33rd St. going east after the game, so we didn't know how to get back.  We just drove south until we hit the harbor and were fine, but there were and still are some very dicey areas between 33rd St. and the Inner Harbor.  Especially at midnight, with three St. Mary's county boys driving Clark Griswold's car.

Thats funny, reminds me of driving me and my friends, in the dad mobile, an old Chevy Sedan. I wasnt allowed to drive in Baltimore for night games, only daytime games.

[atomic]

1 hour ago, DrungoHazewood said:

Memorial Stadium had a lot of good memories, for the Orioles and me, but it was basically a big concrete horseshoe that was clearly designed with football in mind as much as baseball.  More than once I had seats with huge concrete pillars obstructing the view, and/or overhanging upper deck that made flyballs disappear.  The amenities were straight out of 1950.  But luckily I was a kid most of the time I went there so it was great.  I didn't know anything different; there wasn't anything much different in that era.

I would have liked to have seen it in 1950s configuration when the LC-CF-RC "fence" was a hedge 450-some feet away. 

I always sat in the bleachers so  I didn't have any obstructions.  Much nicer amenities than Wrigley field.  I mean it worked.  Camden Yards is much better but Memorial Stadium was fine as a free stadium for the team.  Memorial Stadium had a surreal feel to it which Camden Yards doesn't.  Plus the fans were a lot more fun back then.  Of course, I was in my twenties when Camden Yards opened.  Perhaps I would like the fans there now.  

I lived in Fells Point the first year it opened and I think Bleacher seats were something like $4.50.   Went to a ton of games that year.  But that was the first time I ever saw fans having off topic conversations during the game.  I remember seeing two women talk the whole game in the Bleachers at Camden Yards and I was shocked.  In the Bleachers at Memorial Stadium, you drank beer, shouted insults at the opposing teams outfielders, banged on the metal benches,shouted charge and high fived your fellow fans. 

[DrungoHazewood]

11 minutes ago, atomic said:

I always sat in the bleachers so  I didn't have any obstructions.  Much nicer amenities than Wrigley field.  I mean it worked.  Camden Yards is much better but Memorial Stadium was fine as a free stadium for the team.  Memorial Stadium had a surreal feel to it which Camden Yards doesn't.  Plus the fans were a lot more fun back then.  Of course, I was in my twenties when Camden Yards opened.  Perhaps I would like the fans there now.  

I lived in Fells Point the first year it opened and I think Bleacher seats were something like $4.50.   Went to a ton of games that year.  But that was the first time I ever saw fans having off topic conversations during the game.  I remember seeing two women talk the whole game in the Bleachers at Camden Yards and I was shocked.  In the Bleachers at Memorial Stadium, you drank beer, shouted insults at the opposing teams outfielders, banged on the metal benches,shouted charge and high fived your fellow fans. 

But for most of the time the Orioles were at Memorial they drew like 13,000 fans a game to see 90+ win teams.  In some ways 13,000 fans in a 54,000 seat stadium can be more fun than a sellout.  Especially when you could bring in a huge cooler full of whatever to drink.

[atomic]

1 hour ago, Redskins Rick said:

I disliked the old location, getting to it was a nightmare, parking was absolutely dreadful, dont plan on leaving early, or even when the game is over, if the people around you, decided to hang out elsewhere.

To me OPACY was simple, easy to get to, easy parking, and love the stadium

I used to just park in the neighborhoods for free.  Or take the bus.  Camden Yards was great though as I could walk from Fells Point to the game.  A little bit better these days as the area where Harbor East is today was pretty dicey back then. 

[foxfield]

1 hour ago, Redskins Rick said:

I disliked the old location, getting to it was a nightmare, parking was absolutely dreadful, dont plan on leaving early, or even when the game is over, if the people around you, decided to hang out elsewhere.

To me OPACY was simple, easy to get to, easy parking, and love the stadium

I loved Memorial.  Though honestly my memories are fuzzy.  I remember the poles and the "feel" of history.  And I learned there that if you go to a baseball game you stay until it's over...always.  

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, atomic said:

Memorial Stadium had a surreal feel to it which Camden Yards doesn't. 

Explain.  I loved Memorial Stadium, but surreal is not a word I’d use to describe it.    
 

I like the architecture and location of OPACY way better, but there was a blue collar feel to the Memorial Stadium crowd that OPACY has never replicated.    Not that I’m blue collar myself, but I appreciated the vibe.    

[Redskins Rick]

1 hour ago, DrungoHazewood said:

But for most of the time the Orioles were at Memorial they drew like 13,000 fans a game to see 90+ win teams.  In some ways 13,000 fans in a 54,000 seat stadium can be more fun than a sellout.  Especially when you could bring in a huge cooler full of whatever to drink.

In 1969, the Yankees barely out drew the Orioles in avg attendance.

13,3 to 13,2.

They wasnt far from the top 10.

What really blows my mind, Montreal drew 14.9k fans daily avg. 

[Number5]

4 minutes ago, Redskins Rick said:

In 1969, the Yankees barely out drew the Orioles in avg attendance.

13,3 to 13,2.

They wasnt far from the top 10.

What really blows my mind, Montreal drew 14.9k fans daily avg. 

Montreal was an expansion team in 1969, so there was a novelty factor in play.

[Redskins Rick]

1 minute ago, Number5 said:

Montreal was an expansion team in 1969, so there was a novelty factor in play.

Good point

[DrungoHazewood]

20 minutes ago, Number5 said:

Montreal was an expansion team in 1969, so there was a novelty factor in play.

Although they played in Stade Parc Jerry, which had been a 3000-seat minor league park expanded to 28,000 or so when the Expos were invented.  Imagine throwing up a bunch of metal bleachers around PG County Stadium or Grove Stadium and calling it a major league park.  I'm sure it was great for Quebec to have a team, but it's not like anyone came out for the stadium.  But I suppose in 1969 nobody came out for the stadium anywhere.

[DrungoHazewood]

30 minutes ago, Redskins Rick said:

What really blows my mind, Montreal drew 14.9k fans daily avg. 

Until they blew up the team in the 1990s and let Stade Olympique fall into disrepair Montreal drew pretty well.  In '83 they were second in the NL in attendance.  From 1979-84 they were never lower than 4th.  Even in 1996 they were below MLB average but out-drew the Giants, Mets, Twins, and others.

[spiritof66]

26 minutes ago, Redskins Rick said:

In 1969, the Yankees barely out drew the Orioles in avg attendance.

13,3 to 13,2.

They wasnt far from the top 10.

What really blows my mind, Montreal drew 14.9k fans daily avg. 

Ah, the good old days -- in 1969 both the NYYs and their playing field (headed for a re-modeling four years later) were in pretty bad shape. They finished fifth in the top-heavy AL East. (It was the first year of divisional play.)

Meanwhile, the Mets were thriving in their first successful season, including a late summer competition with the front-running-and-then-collapsing Cubs. The Mets won the AL East and were first in MLB attendance with a 26.5k average. I think they might have made it to the World Series, but my memory is pretty hazy about that.

[McLikin]

39 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

Although they played in Stade Parc Jerry, which had been a 3000-seat minor league park expanded to 28,000 or so when the Expos were invented.  Imagine throwing up a bunch of metal bleachers around PG County Stadium or Grove Stadium and calling it a major league park.  I'm sure it was great for Quebec to have a team, but it's not like anyone came out for the stadium.  But I suppose in 1969 nobody came out for the stadium anywhere.

Save for maaaayybe the Astrodome, but as it would've been already 4 years old in '69, that novelty may have worn/been wearing off by that point.

[DrungoHazewood]

31 minutes ago, McLikin said:

Save for maaaayybe the Astrodome, but as it would've been already 4 years old in '69, that novelty may have worn/been wearing off by that point.

That's a good point.  I had to go look at the effect...

At Colt Stadium the Astros never drew 1 million, with 758k in 1964.  Then the first year in the Astrodome they almost tripled attendance to 2.1M.  That fell off over a couple years to 1.3-1.4M.  Then fell again in the early 70s, to the point where in 1975 they were down to almost where they'd been in the old park.  Then they got good in '79-80 and it went back over 2M.

So the real honeymoon for the Dome was only a couple years, since by '67 they were back to 5th in the NL in attendance.