Orioles & Stadium Authority agree on TWO year extension of OPACY lease

[SteveA]

...to December 31, 2023.   The Orioles have a team option to exercise an additional five year extension (through Dec 2028) on Feb 1 2023.

Not the news I was hoping to hear.   Most stadium leases are measured in decades.   The fact that this one isn't is a cause for concern.   

https://www.wbal.com/article/499473/2/orioles-stadium-authority-agree-to-two-year-lease-extension-for-camden-yards

[LTO's]

From the article:

“The MSA and the Orioles are currently discussing terms of a new lease and capital reinvestment that would keep the team playing in an upgraded Oriole Park at Camden Yards that would offer increased economic benefits from both baseball and year-round, non-baseball uses,” stadium authority Chairman Thomas Kelso said in a statement.

Seems like there’s a lot that needs to be hammered out and this gives them a little more time. Until one of these cities that are popular in relocation talks build a Major League Baseball stadium I’m not going to worry. The A’s lease expires in 2024 and with no new stadium plans I’d imagine they’d be the first team to go if relocation happens.

[Frobby]

The fact that the lease extension  is that short is pretty concerning.   It lends a lot of credence to the theory that the Angelos family is planning to sell the team.  A lease that only binds the owner to Baltimore for three years (including this one) but leaves the team the option to lock it in for another five should be extremely attractive to a buyer.  

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, LTO's said:

From the article:

“The MSA and the Orioles are currently discussing terms of a new lease and capital reinvestment that would keep the team playing in an upgraded Oriole Park at Camden Yards that would offer increased economic benefits from both baseball and year-round, non-baseball uses,” stadium authority Chairman Thomas Kelso said in a statement.

Seems like there’s a lot that needs to be hammered out and this gives them a little more time. Until one of these cities that are popular in relocation talks build a Major League Baseball stadium I’m not going to worry. The A’s lease expires in 2024 and with no new stadium plans I’d imagine they’d be the first team to go if relocation happens.

Sounds like the team wants the city to spend money on the stadium.  Typical.

[SteveA]

2 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Sounds like the team wants the city to spend money on the stadium.  Typical.

Technically it's the state (Maryland Stadium Authority), not the city.

I don't believe the city of Baltimore spends anything on the Orioles beyond overtime for police officers.   Someone will correct me if I am wrong about that.

[LookinUp]

5 minutes ago, Frobby said:

The fact that the lease extension  is that short is pretty concerning.   It lends a lot of credence to the theory that the Angelos family is planning to sell the team.  A lease that only binds the owner to Baltimore for three years (including this one) but leaves the team the option to lock it in for another five should be extremely attractive to a buyer.  

I think that's only concerning if you view them selling the team as risking losing the franchise. I just don't believe that can happen. 

And if you believe that there's no way the O's leave Baltimore, any sign that they're preparing to sell the team is a good thing, not a bad thing. 

That's my opinion at least.

[Can_of_corn]

4 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Technically it's the state (Maryland Stadium Authority), not the city.

I don't believe the city of Baltimore spends anything on the Orioles beyond overtime for police officers.   Someone will correct me if I am wrong about that.

Sorry, right, meant State.

[LTO's]

 

[Can_of_corn]

11 minutes ago, Frobby said:

The fact that the lease extension  is that short is pretty concerning.   It lends a lot of credence to the theory that the Angelos family is planning to sell the team.  A lease that only binds the owner to Baltimore for three years (including this one) but leaves the team the option to lock it in for another five should be extremely attractive to a buyer.  

I can see the two year extension simply serving as a window for them to hammer out the details of the new agreement.  The Angelos family does have a reputation for being deliberate.

[SteveA]

2 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

I think that's only concerning if you view them selling the team as risking losing the franchise. I just don't believe that can happen. 

And if you believe that there's no way the O's leave Baltimore, any sign that they're preparing to sell the team is a good thing, not a bad thing. 

That's my opinion at least.

Why are you so sure it won't happen?

Sure, Camden Yards is a gem.   But it was a prototype and there are now 20+ gems in the majors, and no doubt a potential new city would build a gem too.   And their gem would get that new-stadium boost which we will never again get.

And our attendance has cratered.   We know the reasons -- PLEASE don't start another debate in this thread, especially one of those stupid debates about whether it's the losing or the problems of the city of Baltimore, as if there can only be ONE reason and not a complex combination of many.   But the bottom line is it has dropped.   It is an absolute guarantee that the 2024 CityX Orioles would draw more fans to FancyNewBallpark then the 2024 Orioles would draw to OPACY.   And that would probably be true for several years thereafter, just because of the newness factor.

Baltimore losing the Orioles is not an impossibility.   And I would think today's news only increases the possibility.   Whether that increase is from 0.1% to 3%, or to some  higher number, remains to be seen.   But I definitely fear it.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, SteveA said:

Why are you so sure it won't happen?

Sure, Camden Yards is a gem.   But it was a prototype and there are now 20+ gems in the majors, and no doubt a potential new city would build a gem too.   And their gem would get that new-stadium boost which we will never again get.

And our attendance has cratered.   We know the reasons -- PLEASE don't start another debate in this thread, especially one of those stupid debates about whether it's the losing or the problems of the city of Baltimore, as if there can only be ONE reason and not a complex combination of many.   But the bottom line is it has dropped.   It is an absolute guarantee that the 2024 CityX Orioles would draw more fans to FancyNewBallpark then the 2024 Orioles would draw to OPACY.   And that would probably be true for several years thereafter, just because of the newness factor.

Baltimore losing the Orioles is not an impossibility.   And I would think today's news only increases the possibility.   Whether that increase is from 0.1% to 3%, or to some  higher number, remains to be seen.   But I definitely fear it.

How many teams have moved in the last 50 years?

[SteveA]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

How many teams have moved in the last 50 years?

I guess just 2 (Senators-->Rangers and Expos-->Nationals), as it's been 51 years since the Pilots moved to Milwaukee.    You think that stability is baked into MLB?   Or have they just avoided it by expanding when needed (4 new teams in 1969, 2 in 1977, 2 in 1993, 2 in 1998)?

[Roll Tide]

Orioles agree to extend lease at Camden Yards through 2023 as talks continue on long-term commitment

 

The Orioles have agreed to extend their lease with the Maryland Stadium Authority to remain at Camden Yards at Oriole Park through 2023, a commitment both parties characterize as a placeholder while they continue to negotiate a deal to keep the team at the stadium —and in Baltimore — for the long term. The current lease expires at the end of 2021, although the Orioles have long had the option to extend it for five years. The stadium authority said Monday that the parties agreed to extend the current agreement for two years through Dec. 31, 2023, with the club retaining the right to exercise a one-time, five-year extension by Feb. 1, 2023. The arrangement must still be approved by the state Board of Public Works. “The Baltimore Orioles have stated publicly that they remain committed to Baltimore and to Maryland,” said Thomas Kelso, chairman of the stadium authority, which is the landlord for the Orioles and Ravens on behalf of the state. “The MSA and the Orioles are currently discussing terms of a new lease and capital reinvestment that would keep the team playing in an upgraded Oriole Park at Camden Yards that would offer increased economic benefits from both baseball and year-round, non-baseball uses.” The effort to renew the franchise’s commitment to Baltimore is significant because it comes during a period of uncertainty over the club’s future ownership. Peter Angelos, 91, continues to hold a majority of the limited partnership that owns the Orioles, but he has been in ill health for years. The Baltimore Sun reported that Major League Baseball team owners voted privately last year to approve John Angelos, his son, as “control person” for the club, meaning he succeeded his father as the executive responsible for the team. The Orioles and the MSA confirmed last June that they were seeking a new lease deal that could open the ballpark to more year-round uses. Both parties said they needed additional time because the economic uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic made it an unfavorable time to approach the General Assembly about state funding. The negotiations have been complex. The club has spoken publicly about its hopes of capitalizing on the stadium’s popularity by using it increasingly for non-baseball activities such as music or other non-baseball activities. That could involve new venues such as bars, restaurants—possibly even a sports betting room—in the stadium area. But officials from the club and the state say no such plans have been finalized, and that it was too soon to publicly discuss modifications to the stadium itself that are expected to be part of lease negotiations.

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, SteveA said:

I guess just 2 (Senators-->Rangers and Expos-->Nationals), as it's been 51 years since the Pilots moved to Milwaukee.    You think that stability is baked into MLB?   Or have they just avoided it by expanding when needed (4 new teams in 1969, 2 in 1977, 2 in 1993, 2 in 1998)?

I think they are very reluctant to allow teams to relocate and if it were to happen other teams would be superior candidates.

[SteveA]

4 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I think they are very reluctant to allow teams to relocate and if it were to happen other teams would be superior candidates.

Hope you are right.