Lease negotiations continue to flounder as Angelos won’t back away from demands. Angelos also dumps cold water on the future.
John Angelos is seeking an additional $300,000,000 for upgrades to the Camden Yards area however Governor Moore says: “It’s off the table.”
Fans are getting restless in the middle of a playoff hunt as the magic of this 2023 season has Baltimore Oriole fans wondering if they will see their team again next year. Governor Moore has assured fans that the Orioles are not leaving Baltimore and they will make sure of that. John Angelos himself has said the Orioles are not leaving despite fans believing that something is up behind closed doors.
John Angelos was intrigued by the development of Truist Park in Atlanta which showed expansive community development in turning it into “The Battery” and wants something just like that for Oriole Park at Camden Yards. But his plan is in fact impossible knowing that there is just not enough space and that he also would have to negotiate with the Ravens for the parking lots to which Steve Bisciotti has constantly stated that he won’t hand over.
The hope was for Angelos to sign a new $600,000,000 lease (years undetermined) deal which would allow for the team to invoke state bonds to upgrade the stadium which could use a few repairs as well as a new audio and video system. Many of Camden Yards’ video screens are outdated and could use replacements.
Fans though are getting angry at poor state of negotiations. “This is our team and the crown jewel of the MLB,” one fan said, “What Angelos is doing to the fans is a complete and utter disservice to us as well as the city of Baltimore.” They also believe that lease negotiations are getting in the way of the Orioles potentially hosting another All-Star Game as 2024 will go to the Rangers new home but 2025 has been undetermined. The Orioles are hopeful to claim that one.
John Angelos also threw cold water on the prospect of retaining the core pieces in Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson saying that he would have to raise prices “massively” in order to pay for such contracts. That in itself is also leading to fan anger wondering if John Angelos even has the funds necessary to run the team. The Orioles have been in the top 5 in revenue the last few years as they have been thrifty spenders looking in the bargain bin for good talent. Fans do understand though that there is somewhat of a degree of necessary small rising of prices just to take care of player contracts but the majority of the payments to the players come through ticket sales, television deals, and the MLB’s small shadow of revenue sharing.
Just the fact of potentially seeing Henderson and Rutschman in other than black and orange is making fans start to cringe. “If he can’t afford to pay the players, then he needs to sell the team to owners who will listen to the fan’s demands,” said another fan.
The Orioles franchise is worth $1,713,000,000 held as a consortium with board chairman (Angelos) and several minority stakeholders who have at least a 1% or higher stake in the team however Angelos owns the majority stake. Louis Angelos divested from his stake because he was tired of the way John was running the team.
All in all, fans have had it with the way the team has been treated in the midst of a spectacular run that has been seeing the players developing faster than they could ever imagine. They also brought in the right man for the managerial spot in Brandon Hyde who is focused on the now, not the past or future. But this all could go away if Angelos doesn’t get his act in gear and sign the new lease, Governor Moore said that John Angelos will not get what he wants.
