Naming rights to stadium to be announced today?

[SemperFi]

https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/baltimore-orioles-sale-camden-yards-angelos-rubenstein-80259dc0

The sudden sale of the Baltimore Orioles left behind some loose ends

Unfortunately behind paywall, can anyone with access provide a synopsis?  Thanks in advance!!

 

Edited February 6 by SemperFi

[Big Mac]

Just now, SemperFi said:

https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/baltimore-orioles-sale-camden-yards-angelos-rubenstein-80259dc0

The sudden sale of the Baltimore Orioles left behind some loose ends

Unforunately behind paywall, can anyone with access provide a synopsis?  Thanks in advance!!

The article said that the naming rights were initially supposed to be announced today, but that the corporate sponsor was essentially blindsided by the sale so no announcement today.

The WSJ was relatively critical of Angelos here.  A few snippets below.

 

The company that thought it was about to plaster its name around Camden Yards didn’t know anything about a possible sale until learning about it in the initial news reports. 

 

John Angelos acknowledges he can be capricious, prone to whims and changes-of-heart that make him unlike the careful corporate figures found in most owners’ boxes. He negotiated on and off with Rubenstein for three years, frequently leaving people around him wondering where things stood and what his true intentions were. He played down the intensity of his flirtation with Rubenstein to the end, to the point that many inside MLB didn’t know the sale was finally going forward until about a week before it was finalized.

Yet the most surprising thing about John Angelos’s tenure as the head of the Orioles might just have been his lack of sentimentality. He can conjure up affection for Brooks Robinson like any good Baltimorean, but he made a deliberate effort not to wear Orioles merchandise or even the color orange. 

Angelos’s dispassion for his own ball club stands in contrast to that of Rubenstein, who described himself in a statement as being an Orioles fan for his “entire life.” 

[AnythingO's]

The franchise’s owner had identified a corporate sponsor, and the two parties had reached an agreement. A press release had been drafted announcing the identity of the company that would replace the “Oriole” part of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, people familiar with the matter said. It was scheduled to be blasted out on Tuesday. 

But it turns out that Angelos was also working on something else. It emerged last week that he is selling a controlling stake in the Orioles, the team his family has owned for three decades, to a group of investors led by local private-equity billionaire David Rubenstein. The company that thought it was about to plaster its name around Camden Yards didn’t know anything about a possible sale until learning about it in the initial news reports. 

All relevant parties declined to name the company involved in the deal.

The future of the Orioles’ naming-rights situation remains unclear, but the episode perfectly encapsulates the confounding saga that will almost certainly end with Rubenstein taking control of the organization. Even days before the sale was finalized, many stakeholders were kept in the dark by Angelos or only partially aware of the status of negotiations, including Major League Baseball and even government officials. 

[Frobby]

Doesn’t strike me as unusual to keep a lid on a big corporate deal until the deal’s done.  

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

Hope it’s not FanDuel, BetMGM or DraftKings. I know sports gambling is here to stay, but it’s already pushed enough. 

 

[DirtyBird]

4 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Doesn’t strike me as unusual to keep a lid on a big corporate deal until the deal’s done.  

It was Ledo's Pizza

[Moose Milligan]

Looks like John Angelos actually did something right, IMO.  Did what he wanted to do, didn't give a Frenchman's you-know-what about it.  To me, that makes him a bit of a hero....going out guns blazing, just not giving a you-know-what.  Had a laser minded focus on getting this deal done, wasn't gonna loop in anyone who could sidetrack him or protest to him about it.  You can badmouth JA all you want, I've done it as well as many other people here but I like that move and fully applaud it.  Sold the team to someone who wanted it, wanted it bad and if you weren't an owner, he didn't care what you had to say about it.  That's how a business owner should operate.

In regards to the company that's pearl clutching about how they got blindsided, really, get over yourselves.  You mean to tell me you DON'T want your name on the front of Camden Yards now, especially with the much despised Angelos gone?  You DON'T want your name on the front of Camden Yards the season after they won 101 games?  You DON'T want your name on the front of Camden Yards during the season that they're about to debut the #1 ranked rookie in Major League Baseball for the third season in a row?  You DON'T want your name on the front of Camden Yards come October?

Fine.  Take some time to think about it.

[Moose Milligan]

4 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

Hope it’s not FanDuel, BetMGM or DraftKings. I know sports gambling is here to stay, but it’s already pushed enough. 

 

I doubt it's any of those.  Those gambling sites are so thirsty for mainstream acknowledgement and success that they wouldn't let an ownership change dissuade them.

[Orioles Jim]

Can confirm that there are no cranes (or what have you) present as of 1:07 pm to replace/adjust the iconic signage.

[Frobby]

Close of the article:

”For John Angelos, the eventual offloading of the Orioles will finally sever his strained relationship between his family and his business.   For Rubenstein, the passion for the Orioles came first, the business came later.”  

Amen. 
 

[interloper]

9 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

In regards to the company that's pearl clutching about how they got blindsided, really, get over yourselves.  You mean to tell me you DON'T want your name on the front of Camden Yards now, especially with the much despised Angelos gone?  You DON'T want your name on the front of Camden Yards the season after they won 101 games?  You DON'T want your name on the front of Camden Yards during the season that they're about to debut the #1 ranked rookie in Major League Baseball for the third season in a row?  You DON'T want your name on the front of Camden Yards come October?

Fine.  Take some time to think about it.

Haha. Yeah I'm not sure why a company would be like "oh no, a new and better and more exciting owner who will attract more eyes and ears to our name, SUCH DECEPTION". Come on. Put your dumb name on the stadium and give Uncle Ruben a cool $60 mil or whatever. 

Edited February 6 by interloper

[Warehouse]

22 minutes ago, Big Mac said:

He can conjure up affection for Brooks Robinson like any good Baltimorean, but he made a deliberate effort not to wear Orioles merchandise or even the color orange. 

But he didn’t have any qualms suspending MASN broadcasters for not wearing team store merch.

[glenn__davis]

4 minutes ago, interloper said:

Haha. Yeah I'm not sure why a company would be like "oh no, a new and better and more exciting owner who will attract more eyes and ears to our name, SUCH DECEPTION". Come on. Put your dumb name on the stadium and give Uncle Ruben a cool $60 mil or whatever. 

Or better, don't, and keep your money

[spleen1015]

13 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Looks like John Angelos actually did something right, IMO.  Did what he wanted to do, didn't give a Frenchman's you-know-what about it.  To me, that makes him a bit of a hero....going out guns blazing, just not giving a you-know-what.  Had a laser minded focus on getting this deal done, wasn't gonna loop in anyone who could sidetrack him or protest to him about it.  You can badmouth JA all you want, I've done it as well as many other people here but I like that move and fully applaud it.  Sold the team to someone who wanted it, wanted it bad and if you weren't an owner, he didn't care what you had to say about it.  That's how a business owner should operate.

In regards to the company that's pearl clutching about how they got blindsided, really, get over yourselves.  You mean to tell me you DON'T want your name on the front of Camden Yards now, especially with the much despised Angelos gone?  You DON'T want your name on the front of Camden Yards the season after they won 101 games?  You DON'T want your name on the front of Camden Yards during the season that they're about to debut the #1 ranked rookie in Major League Baseball for the third season in a row?  You DON'T want your name on the front of Camden Yards come October?

Fine.  Take some time to think about it.

It could be Rubenstein doesn't want to change the name of OPACY. If that's the case, praise the man because <insert sponsor name here> Park at Camden Yards will sounds like crap.

Leave it Oriole Park.

Edited February 6 by spleen1015

[interloper]

Just now, Warehouse said:

But he didn’t have any qualms suspending MASN broadcasters for not wearing team store merch.

I am so ready for the MASN overhaul that I have to assume if coming at some point. Give the thing to Leonsis already. That guy sucks in his own way, but MASN can't get any worse.