One of the many benefits of this baseball writing gig, beyond the complimentary press box popcorn, is the chance to see a stadium as it truly is. Hours before or after first pitch, the stands yet to be filled or long-since emptied, no music blaring and no distracting video.

It’s just steel and concrete, the uniformity of empty seats, the sight lines that rise to the stars — stars in space or on the diamond below.

There’s beauty in an empty stadium. And, as someone who is close to having visited all 30 ballparks (excluding the Athletics’ new Sacramento, California, home, I’m at 27), I’ve had many opportunities after a long night to look out and marvel — at the seagulls who descend on Oracle Park by the bay, at the dark outlines of the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles, at the CN Tower in Toronto.

Some views are better than others. PNC Park’s Pittsburgh skyline blows away the parking garages of Nationals Park, or even the Hilton built beyond Baltimore’s Camden Yards. But each is unique, and there are parts of each that can inspire the next.

As Camden Yards nears a renovation that will include necessary upgrades to the sound system and video board, there’s also an opportunity to give one of baseball’s most beloved ballparks a facelift in other ways.

That is why the Maryland Stadium Authority has set aside $600 million in public bonds to renovate Camden Yards and the surrounding area. Based on my travels around the country (and Canada) to almost every ballpark, these are three aspects of different stadiums that could be introduced at Camden Yards.

Make Eutaw Street and the Warehouse a year-round destination

During the initial design of Camden Yards, then-Orioles President Larry Lucchino and Planning and Design Director Janet Marie Smith studied some of the most historic ballparks from a previous era, before the generic bowl stadiums became vogue. There were Ebbets Field, Forbes Field and old Comiskey Park.

But there was also Fenway Park in Boston that served as inspiration, and once Camden Yards was finished in 1992, the favor was returned during the Red Sox’s stadium upgrades a decade later.

One of the major connections between the stadiums is on the outside. Jersey Street in Boston helped create Eutaw Street in Baltimore. And, after Smith joined the Red Sox to oversee Fenway Park’s renovation in 2002 as the senior vice president of planning and development, Baltimore returned the favor to Jersey Street.

“Eutaw Street was born because we saw the success of this,” Smith said in 2022. “But then Eutaw Street one-upped it by being inside the gates. Then, when we got here 10 years later, we were like, ‘Hey, let’s do that again.’ ”

By bringing Jersey Street inside the gates on game days, Boston created a North End Italian feast environment, said Larry Cancro, a longtime Red Sox employee, in 2022. And, when there isn’t a game, Jersey Street remains open with bars, restaurants and apparel stores year round.

Perhaps Jersey Street can inspire Eutaw Street once more with its hybrid nature. As the Orioles ponder how to utilize the space inside the B&O Warehouse, the club could add more stalls and shops on Eutaw Street to make it a major destination when the team is on the road and in the offseason.

Upper-deck bar

The upper left-field sections of Camden Yards often stand out for the wrong reasons. Apart from a few select games a year, such as Opening Day, those sections are left empty. Tickets aren’t sold there.

Over the last several decades, ballparks have gradually reduced capacity. Shea Stadium, where the New York Mets used to play, had seating for 15,000 more fans than Citi Field, which opened in 2009. Similar capacity reductions occurred at new Yankee Stadium and during the Braves’ move from Turner Field to Truist Park in Atlanta.

It’s not a shock, then, that Baltimore would be in position to reduce the capacity of Camden Yards, even though attendance surpassed 2 million fans in 2024 for the first time since 2017.

The idea to remove the sections in upper left field is not novel. In a survey sent to season ticket-holders, the Orioles floated the possibility of “The Nest,” a “casual environment” described as a “social patio” with standing-room views of the field.

The idea is a great one, and it follows what has worked in many other ballparks. The Cleveland Guardians, Toronto Blue Jays and Red Sox, to name three, all have upper-level bar areas for fans to socialize and watch the game.

Toronto’s upgrades to Rogers Centre added multiple outfield viewing areas with a focus on a bar atmosphere. It has the Corona Rooftop Patio and The Catch Bar, the latter of which is above the visiting bullpen and closer to field level.

At Fenway Park, the additions of the Sam Deck and Truly Terrace in right field expanded the ballpark’s footprint and offered a historic venue more space for fans to mill about. And, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, The Corner Bar is a two-story destination that features craft beer and high-up viewing decks of the diamond and downtown.

The hard-core fans might not find the atmosphere as locked in. But the Orioles want to open Camden Yards to more of Baltimore. By providing different game-day experiences, they could attract a wider collection of fans.

Renovated picnic area

Beyond the center-field fence and scoreboard, near the statue plaza, the picnic area at Camden Yards is a nice space for families. But it could be much better.

During a trip to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last season, the outfield amenities offered at one of the oldest ballparks in the country were eye-opening. On most game days, a live band plays in a plaza near the center-field gates, with the addition of bars and restaurants nearby as part of a $100 million renovation project that began in 2019.

Baltimore can take note of how to rejuvenate its gravel picnic area that serves a purpose but doesn’t draw fans to the area. The Orioles could also eliminate a pedestrian choke point near the center-field gate if they open the area to alleviate congestion. How?

First, install concrete rather than gravel. Next, break down some of the barrier walls that constrict traffic. In the new area, picnic tables can remain, but the experience can be overhauled further by adding local craft beer stands — creating a rotating partnership with breweries such as Checkerspot, Mobtown and Diamondback — along with a local food truck.

The Orioles have already attempted to turn the center-field statue garden into a pregame destination with live music on Saturday afternoons. The revamping of the picnic area next door would elevate the experience further.

This story has been updated to note that Eutaw Street is open to pedestrian traffic throughout the year but does not have many businesses open.