O's new president of business operations Catie Griggs talks Camden Yards renovations, attendance and more

Hired July 8 as the Orioles' first female president of business operations, Catie Griggs is on a fact-finding mission right now. In her first press conference with O’s media yesterday she said since her first official day Aug. 19, she has spent time getting to know the city, her new team and her new co-workers.

Soon she will head up improvements that will be made to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, with some coming next year but more significant ones likely for the 2026 season.

“Right now I’m learning,” said Griggs. “That is priority No. 1. I know what I don’t know. I have reasonable experience running a baseball team from the business side. But I’ve never run a team from the business-side here in Baltimore.”

She was the first major hire for new owner David M. Rubenstein and his new ownership group. Griggs served as president of business operations for the Seattle Mariners since July of 2021 before resigning and taking the job with the Orioles. That was after four seasons as the chief business officer for Atlanta United in Major League Soccer. She oversaw all aspects of the Mariners organization outside of baseball operations.

To better get to know the fan experience at Oriole Park she took part in it. Already sitting in 15 different areas of the ballpark.

“We serve our fans, and I want to understand what they are going through,” she said. “I sat in the Splash Zone for the sixth inning the other night and got real wet. It was a lot of fun. It’s been a joy getting to walk around the ballpark, get to understand how this space works. Get to understand how it fits in our opportunity and then spending a lot of time getting to know our staff.”

Any renovations to Camden Yards may be on the smaller scale initially.

“For us it’s really important that we respect the integrity and the history of the ballpark and all things that make it unique and special and amazing. And find ways where we can really accent that and deliver more value to our fans in ways that respects the past but also embraces the future," she said.

With Seattle, she led the way as T-Mobile Park became the first venue to host both Major League Baseball's All-Star Week (2023) and the National Hockey League Winter Classic (2024) within a calendar year. Combined, the two events generated more than $80 million in revenue for the city of Seattle and directly engaged more than 300,000 fans. 

Baltimore has not hosted the All-Star game since 1993.

“I would love to have the opportunity to host an All-Star game here. It’s truly an amazing opportunity to bring the community together and really showcase the city,” said Griggs.

With her move to the Orioles, Griggs is a bit closer to home which was one of several factors for her joining the Orioles. She is a North Carolina native. Griggs received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and her master's in business administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. 

Griggs on some other topics:

What is your biggest O's challenge?: “I think the challenge, it’s really an opportunity, is to more effectively engage this entire community. We have an amazing ballpark with a lot of seats. I’d like to see them filled every day. To do that we have to create an environment where everyone feels welcome, everyone feels appreciated, like they are seen, and they want to be here and be a part of this.

“The team has done it before, and I very much believe we can do it again. But that’s the opportunity we have.”

Attendance is up this year, how do you assess it?: “I think we’re on the right track. We’re building on the success that we’ve had and there is opportunity ahead of us to get better.”

How does she see her role intersecting with Mike Elias, who heads up the baseball operations side?: “I think they are incredibly symbiotic. My goal is to help support him and the baseball operations team on being able to produce the most compelling, exciting, dynamic and winning team on the field they possibly can.

“Part of that is creating an experience where fans want to be. Fans bring the energy to the ballpark. The grand slam the other night – you can feel it. So how do I work alongside them to compliment them to keep putting the best team possible on the field.”

How healthy is the business of baseball in the majors the last few years and how does that impact Baltimore?: “Fans love baseball, period. All sports had a challenging time through Covid. But you are seeing the sport bouncing back and youth participation is up for baseball and softball looking nationally. Additionally, the changes from a rules standpoint that shortened games do appear to have increased TV ratings, even at a time where distribution challenges exist, and fewer people have the ability to access those games through traditional cable subscriptions.

“So I believe the health of the game is strong. The product is strong. The opportunity for us is ensuring we are creating a space to keep, maintain and respect all the fans that make the game great while ensuring we are also creating space for new fans to fall in love with it.”