The Future of Camden Yards (Potential Renovations from Team Survey)

[Moose Milligan]

55 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

Ah, how quickly you forget. You were at the September 12, 2012 Hangout night, where Manny didn't throw it away and Nate McLouth walked it off with the ball off the RF wall, weren't you? So was I...

But I appreciate the sentiment. I would love to talk to some fellow weirdos about Jack Bentley and the 1922 Orioles.

Nope, never been to a hangout night.  

[scottbbfm]

3 hours ago, DrungoHazewood said:

That was my first thought, a lot of ideas on how to separate fans from quite a bit of their money. I'm old enough and far enough along in my career that I'm not eating Ramen all the time, but the odds of me doing any of these proposed concepts are slim just based on price.

New ownership definitely wants to increase revenue.  As I’ve said, we should expect that their yearly financial target is to break even.   (Which is a huge improvement over the Angelos)

That said - the business support at OPACY has dwindled over the years as it’s not a premium product or experience.  It’s a retail oriented ball park.  With the improved product on the field, businesses will be more willing to support, but they need to be able to provide premium and modern experiences.

Of course it’s imperative there’s a healthy balance between corporate and retail opportunities.  

[fansince1988]

2 hours ago, NashLumber said:

I like the idea of field level outfield section built in the wall, but I'd hate to see the grounds crew dugout gone, but that's where it probably makes most sense, unless it could be built under the flag court or Walltimore. 

Btw, this is as good a place as any to repost my idea for moving the scoreboard / Jumbotron so the historic Camden Station could be seen. By doing so, the centerfield rooftop bar could be almost tripled in size in my drawing. I don't care if the scoreboard blocks the view of the freeloaders on the balcony of the Hilton. I still have my grudge based on it blocking the Bromo Tower. This is my graphic of how it would look. Note the auxiliary scoreboard behind the seats in the right field corner. 

And for good measure, redesign the top of the scoreboard to incorporate the Key Bridge into the design since The Sun logo is gone. 

 

I'd like them to put the scoreboard in the dead space that is the left field upper deck which vary rarely fills up. Make it the Scoreboard Pavilion with standing room and social space. 

[NashLumber]

14 minutes ago, fansince1988 said:

I'd like them to put the scoreboard in the dead space that is the left field upper deck which vary rarely fills up. Make it the Scoreboard Pavilion with standing room and social space. 

I'd have no problem with that. And for the people who can't see that, that RF auxillary board I pasted in will help those folks, at least. 

 

[NashLumber]

1 hour ago, DrungoHazewood said:

They could have a cutout in the RF wall, and if the ball goes in there it's a homer. But if it's 10' higher it's off the wall and in play!

Sounds like one of the dreams I had a few years ago. The ballpark was a mash-up of OPACY and my childhood back yard. In the last play of the game, Matt Wieters went hard into third on a triple, overslid and went all the way into the visitor's dugout and a brawl ensued. I think the ball he hit was in a tree in centerfield and it took a long time to bound down from the various limbs, thus the triple! 

Edited May 30 by NashLumber

[Malike]

51 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Nope, never been to a hangout night.  

Ha, someone impersonated you at a hangout night! What a loser!

[Moose Milligan]

Just now, Malike said:

Ha, someone impersonated you at a hangout night! What a loser!

It was DirtyBird.  

[DrungoHazewood]

54 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Nope, never been to a hangout night.  

Huh. I swore you were there, guess it was someone else.

[Emory Eagle]

I have a newborn and a toddler, so definitely interested in some increased investment in family areas / children's play spaces.  I live in the DC suburbs, and with the kids and work can't really make it to the Yard too often... but do try to go once or twice a year with a friend and get nice seats, and once or twice with the family in cheaper seats.  Not sure any of the higher end options would be all that appealing, as if I want to spend money its to sit close to the action and watch baseball... not go to some overpriced O's themed restaurant and bar with a bowling alley or whatever.

That said, if this type of stuff means the team can raise additional revenue, then fine. 

[RZNJ]

2 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

It was DirtyBird.  

I’m sure he made a good impression on your behalf.  

[Hallas]

I don't live in the area and my ties to Baltimore are currently weaker than they have been in the past, so I'm unlikely to visit OPACY again any time soon, but I don't really hate the idea of paying $800 to get food and watch a game with my wife and kid.  Disneyland would cost me $750 just to walk thru the gate if I didn't work there, and I have to sell my kidney to buy food in the park, so if you're selling me a 4-6 hour experience that includes a fun toddler area and free food it seems competitive with other amusement options.  We shouldn't be terribly surprised that they're building new and unique ways to part us with our money, but at least the value seems to be somewhat reasonable compared to other similar amusement/entertainment options, especially kid-friendly ones.

Edited May 30 by Hallas

[MTMan13]

Really love that they are asking us and soliciting feedback. That field level club in the outfield is COOL. 

[Jagwar]

We should start a Top 10 Rejected Camden Yard Renovations list. 

[survivedc]

Honestly none of these are appealing to me, outside of the museum idea. Other than that, it all seems like a way to get people into the stadium to spend more and often watch less of the game.

The wider, padded club seats are comfortable, but you lose a lot of atmosphere. With young kids the last thing I want is a playground to distract them, not teach them baseball and keep me or my wife away from our purchased seats. 
 

I wonder what stadiums in cities with similar character have, Pittsburgh, Cinci, Cleveland. I haven’t been to Fenway in a while but my memory of it is that it was ALL baseball. Great place to watch a game, even as a rival. 

[Roll Tide]

20 hours ago, Absltgreek said:

A lot of it looks nice, but some for sure felt a bit out of my range, maybe doable with a friend for a special occasion, but many definitely out of reach with a family of four. The potential packages seemed a lot more affordable though. I'm cautiously optimistic there will be some options that work for everyone.

Yeah, lots of cool ideas ….but the food would have to be upgraded considerably to tolerate the exorbitant cost. $100+ for a pregame buffet is just too much. I mean the brunch at the Rusty Scupper is pretty good and includes some alcohol. You can get out for $80 a person and I usually go on the holidays Easter, Mothers Day, etc. when you can usually justify the stiff tag. 
 

The Crab Shack is a decent idea….but the ballpark markup for a dozen crabs would have to be $120-$130 a dozen for mediums that you’d get anywhere else for $50-$60 bucks. An AUCE option probably costs $150 per person when it’s $55-$75 in a number of places. I just don’t know how the model works for the average fan in Baltimore.