Owner gazing at stars
Rubsenstein hopes Camden Yards, once it’s ‘rehabilitated,’ can host Midsummer Classic
Before this week, the Orioles last changed owners in 1993 when Peter Angelos bought the club.
That year, Camden Yards was in its second season with regular soldout crowds, and Major League Baseball awarded the revolutionary ballpark the All-Star Game. There hasn’t been one in Baltimore since.
With the Orioles’ resurgence and a new lease agreement for the park, could the Midsummer Classic return to Charm City?
If new owner David Rubenstein has his way, it might not be too long.
Rubenstein, who bought the club from the Angelos family for a deal that values the franchise at $1.725 billion, said during his introductory event on the sixth floor of the B&O Warehouse before Thursday’s opening day that having Camden Yards host the All-Star Game is something the new ownership group is “obviously interested in.”
However, MLB already has the next three booked: 2024 at the Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Field, 2025 at the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park and 2026 at the Philadelphia Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park.
That means 2027 is the earliest Baltimore fans could welcome the world’s best players for the Home Run Derby, All-Star Game and the other festivities. Rubenstein hopes to have any stadium upgrades in place by then, as the club’s new lease is set to unlock hundreds of millions of state funds for the 31-year-old ballpark.
“We hope by that time the stadium will be rehabilitated a bit, and therefore, we’d like to show it off,” Rubenstein said before the Orioles’ game against the Los Angeles Angels. “Once we have the rehabilitated Camden Yards, I think it would be a great time to then show it off. We’ll make sure we have it completed, though, but we are interested in it and I am familiar with the situation.”
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore attended Thursday’s event, speaking before introducing Rubenstein and answering questions about the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. Moore also touched on the lease agreement, which was finalized in December after years of wrangling, during his opening remarks.
The lease keeps the Orioles in Baltimore for at least the next 15 years — and perhaps 30.
“A year ago, uncertainty clouded everything,” Moore said. “One of the most storied franchises in baseball history had just a month left on its lease. The default oftentimes was to sign short-term deals because long-term deals were too hard.”
During a news conference in Tampa, Florida, during spring training, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred listed two criteria for which cities he’ll choose for those two seasons: the recency with which they’ve hosted the Midsummer Classic, and whether the city can handle the influx of visitors.
Going strictly off the former, that would put the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field and the Toronto Blue Jays’ Rogers Centre atop the list.
Oakland hasn’t hosted since 1987, but the Athletics’ impending move to Las Vegas eliminates Oakland as an option. Tampa Bay has never hosted after gaining the expansion Rays in 1998, and they’re scheduled to have a new ballpark in
St. Petersburg in 2028.
Wrigley Field, one of baseball’s oldest and most iconic venues, last had an All-Star Game in 1990. Toronto hosted in 1991 and hasn’t since.
Behind the Chicago Cubs and Toronto, Baltimore would be next in line. San Diego hosted in 1992 but again in 2016. The USA Today reported last year that Baltimore was on a shortlist of candidates for the 2025 All-Star Game, which was later awarded to Atlanta.
“As time goes by,” Manfred said last summer, “I’ve been more focused on keeping track of when a game was last there and trying to get back to places where we haven’t been in a really long time.”
Another question facing
Camden Yards is the park’s naming rights.
Amid rumors of the club being open to having a sponsor attached to the name, Rubenstein didn’t shoot down the possibility Thursday.
“The naming rights, there have been proposals for that,” Rubenstein said. “No decision is imminent. I am familiar with the proposal that came forward, and it’s something we’ll take a look at. But nothing is going to happen immediately. I have been in touch with those people that would like to do the naming. I just have to follow up after we get the opening day things behind us.”
Angelos, who died last week at 94, told The Washington Post in 2000 that he would “never” sell the park’s naming rights.
“I would never do anything to alter the Camden
Yards name,” Angelos said. “My goal is to retain Oriole Park. It’s known throughout the world as the finest park.”
Last year, the Orioles had four All-Stars in Seattle. Adley Rutschman wowed at the Home Run Derby with his switch-hitting prowess.
In 1993, Ken Griffey Jr. famously hit the warehouse during the derby.
Perhaps Rutschman can try the same at Camden Yards later this decade.