Now that a lease has been signed, the Orioles and the Maryland Stadium Authority can tap into up to $600 million of taxpayer-financed bonds for upgrades.
The team will remain at Oriole Park at Camden Yards for at least 15 years — and potentially decades, if all goes to plan, according to state and team officials.
The 30-year lease has options to extend but could also be shortened to 15 years if an agreement on developing land around the stadium is not reached by the end of 2027.
The budget situation — while not dire, given the total budget is more than $60 billion — will test Democrats’ ability to enact new programs and services, given their limited financial resources.
“Our military families are sacrificing just as much as our people in uniform,” the Democratic governor said as he unveiled his own proposals and offered support for measures sponsored by lawmakers.
“We’ve been working all throughout the weekend and in the week with all of the partners, and we feel very confident that a deal is imminent,” Moore, a Democrat, told reporters.
It’s possible that the two sides could come to a new agreement by the end of the year encompassing both the priorities of Gov. Wes Moore and Orioles CEO and chairman John Angelos, while also addressing concerns that scuttled the deal last week.
Speaking to hundreds of local government leaders, the Democratic governor defended his plans for severe highway and transit cuts as part of tough choices that are necessary amid a worsening budget picture.
Maryland transportation projects could be delayed and local commuter bus service and roadway maintenance face significant cuts as a result of a more-than-$3 billion shortfall in funding the state’s six-year transportation plan, state officials said Tuesday.
The final scheduled meeting of the Maryland Stadium Authority this year came and went without action on the Orioles’ lease, which expires Dec. 31. But officials remained optimistic: “My message to the public is that everyone’s intention, including the Orioles, is for the Orioles to remain in Baltimore for a very long time,” MSA Executive Director Michael Frenz said.
Virginia officials are asking the federal government to pause the efforts to fund and build the FBI’s new headquarters in Greenbelt while an inspector general reviews the process. Maryland officials remain confident the Greenbelt pick will withstand scrutiny.
“She understands what our city needs better than any other candidate in this race,” Mayor Brandon Scott said of Alsobrooks on Tuesday at at the Zeta Center in Northwest Baltimore’s Park Heights neighborhood.
The Orioles' lease at Oriole Park at Camden Yards expires Dec. 31. Two dates to watch for a new lease are the Maryland Stadium Authority's meeting Dec. 5 and the Maryland Board of Public Works meeting Dec. 13.
A deadline is looming at the end of the year for Maryland to decide whether to keep or replace the troubled, for-profit company that provides medical care in state prisons and the Baltimore City jail complex.