'Orioles are always going to be in Baltimore': CEO John Angelos discusses team's future, lease extension
BALTIMORE - Baltimore Orioles CEO John Angelos spoke with reporters on Sunday in Sarasota, Florida about the future of the franchise and the expectations for this season.
In a nearly 40 minute conversation, Angelos reiterated that he is working to keep the Orioles in Baltimore.
With no agreement with the Maryland Stadium Authority yet on a lease extension at Camden Yards, there has been speculation about where Orioles will play beyond this year.
However, Angelos said he want to put those rumors to bed and come up with an agreement within the next few months - maybe by All-Star Break.
"I would love to have that as an All-Star Break gift for everybody in the community," Angelos said. "We are going to get that done. That's always been one of the things I have been most committed to, and I have no intention of not seeing that happen. I know the governor and his folks are just as keen on that as I am."
Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened in 1992, and the Orioles had a celebration for the three decades at the park.
However, as time has continued, the 30-year contract with the Maryland Stadium Authority is set to end on December 31, 2023.
Orioles chose not to agree to a one-time, five-year extension before the Feb. 1 deadline.
In January, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore parted ways with Maryland Stadium Authority Board Chairman Thomas Kelso, and nominated Craig Thompson for the role.
Angelos told reporters that renewing the 30-year lease agreement is a "minor sidelight."
He said the majority of the agreement between the city, state and the Orioles consist of the live-work-play components around Camden Yards, including rejuvenating the surroundings at Oriole Park.
According to our media partners with The Baltimore Banner, once a new lease is signed, the Orioles will be eligible to receive $600 million for stadium improvements from the state.
"The Orioles are always going to be in Baltimore," Angelos said. "Hopefully this team will do what it did last year, and better, for many years to come."
The Orioles won 83 games last season - a 31-game increase from 2021 - and their best record since they were playoff-bound in 2016.
Angelos said that's just the beginning as he envisions the Orioles to remain "relevant and competitive" for years to come.
He also said himself, General Manager Mike Elias and Manager Brandon Hyde will be in Baltimore "for the long haul."
"I'm here for the long haul, Mike is here for the long haul, Brandon is here for the long haul," Angelos said. "We are all fully vested. We are not going anywhere."
The Orioles' CEO told reporters there are no plans to change the partnership group or change the managing partnership structure of the Orioles, and that the family isn't looking to sell their majority ownership stake.
On the field, Angelos said the Orioles are nearing the end of their purposeful rebuild, which was beneficial when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the sport for most of the 2020 season.
The following year, the season was delayed because of a lockout.
This year, the Orioles return budding stars in Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, along with veterans Cedric Mullins, Ramon Urias, Jorge Mateo, Anthony Santander, Austin Hays and Ryan Mountcastle.
"I said we were going to rebuild the team and do it a certain way. They've done that," Angelos said. "We went from bottom of the league to top on talent in the minor leagues. We had a 31-game turnaround."
Angelos said the team's payroll could continue to grow in future years, likening the Orioles stance to Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Milwaukee as small-to-mid-market teams that have had sustained success despite ranking low in payroll.
"We absolutely have the resources and will continue to move the payroll up," Angelos said. "Could payroll be double or triple what it is -- or could it be over $100 million? Yeah. But we're not there yet. We have a very young team that's overachieved and overperformed because of the great work of our baseball folks."
The Angelos brothers recently dropped their legal fight over the Orioles, their family fortune and their father's law firm, according to court documents obtained by WJZ.
John and Louis Angelos along with their mother, Georgia, agreed on Friday to dismiss with prejudice "all claims, including all counterclaims and defenses." .
Dismissing the lawsuits with prejudice means the brothers won't be able to file the same lawsuits again.
Peter Angelos, patriarch of the family and majority owner of the Orioles, remains incapacitated after a collapse in 2017 and is suffering from advanced-stage dementia, according to court documents.
