Orioles sign new 30-year stadium lease (updated)

The final out was made in the bottom of the third inning tonight and Orioles chairman and CEO John Angelos and Governor Wes Moore appeared on the video board in center field. They were applauding. Big smiles on their faces. Huge news printed below them.

The Orioles, Moore and the State of Maryland, and the Maryland Stadium Authority agreed to a deal that will keep the team in Baltimore and at Camden Yards for at least the next 30 years.

The current lease was set to expire on Dec. 31. Angelos, Moore and commissioner Rob Manfred kept insisting that the club wasn’t moving, but fans wanted a commitment.

They got it on a night when the Orioles are trying to clinch their first division title since 2014.

The agreement covers a guaranteed 30 years, with two five-year extension options, according to the Baltimore Banner, and enables the Orioles to unlock the $600 million in state bonds for stadium improvements. Same as the NFL’s Ravens, who signed a 15-year extension with options on Jan. 4.

More details will be available on Friday, per the team.

Moore posted on the former Twitter: 30 MORE YEARS IN BALTIMORE. LET'S GO O'S!

Mayor Brandon Scott issued a statement.

“The Baltimore Orioles are an institution and an irreplaceable member of the collective family that makes up Charm City. I am extremely pleased that under this agreement, they will continue to call Oriole Park at Camden Yards — the ballpark that forever changed baseball — home for another generation. I want to thank John Angelos and the entire Orioles organization for continuing to be a team not only in Baltimore, but of Baltimore. I also want to thank Governor Moore, Maryland Stadium Authority Chair Craig Thompson, and the entire team at the state for their great work ensuring our Orioles remain in Baltimore. I look forward to working with them and all of our partners as we embark on the next steps to modernize Oriole Park and the surrounding area into the best version of itself."

Part of the delay has been attributed to Angelos’ vision for redevelopment of the area around Camden Yards. Back in March, Angelos and Gov. Moore visited the Battery in Atlanta, a year-round entertainment experience outside of Truist Park. 

How it could work in Baltimore is unknown, but tonight's news is all that mattered.

Camden Yards was first opened to the public in April 1992. Major League Baseball wants the Orioles to stay in it. The Orioles never wanted to leave.

“We’re 30-plus years at Camden Yards and 70 years, nearly, in Baltimore,” Angelos told MASNsports.com on the night that the Orioles clinched a playoff berth. “We’re going to be another 30 more. It’s a foregone conclusion. It’s just that the state and the Orioles and the city are really trying to get it right, to max it out and really optimize it.

“That will help the team to get better, too. It will bring more fans downtown. Already these guys have brought a couple million people downtown this year, and hopefully we’ll get back to three million soon as these exciting things happen and winning hopefully continues. All boats rise and all good things to come, I hope.”