For as eye-catching as the new scoreboard at Camden Yards is bound to be next season, the area underneath it could be as large a draw.

As part of the renovations for their historic ballpark, the Orioles are adding a standing-room bar area in straightaway center field dubbed Scoreboard Social. The space will be available for private events and, when it’s not booked, it will be open to all fans.

The Orioles say the space will hold up to 300 fans and the patio will be covered from the sun. There will be a bar and food options for groups. In a sense, it mirrors the Coors Light Roof Deck set atop the batter’s eye structure in center field, and for a ballpark that has few sight lines from the enclosed concourse, the Scoreboard Social offers a way for fans to watch in a standing setting.

“I think it’s going to be really transformational,” said Catie Griggs, the team’s president of business operations, in a phone interview Sunday. “Camden Yards is an icon, so the last thing we want to be doing is making changes that are going to materially and structurally negatively impact all the things that make the ballpark great. But I do think there are certain experiences that we know our fans want and enjoy that we want to be able to deliver.

“The view from out there is incredible,” Griggs continued. “With those seats removed, if you stand behind those sections, it’s just a stunning view of the ballpark.”

Griggs said the area under the scoreboard will also unlock a new place for large groups in the hundreds to gather and watch a game. Such an area doesn’t exist at Camden Yards.

The renderings have since circulated social media, showing the current seating area in center field joined by a covered patio at the top of the section.

The Maryland Stadium Authority has approved $410 million in bonds for improvements to Camden Yards, which includes the initial $135 million and a more recent $275 million bond.

The lease agreement for the team’s continued use of Camden Yards included $600 million in potential bonds for the Orioles to use for stadium improvements. The full amount will be available once the organization works out a ground lease plan that locks the team in for the full duration of its 30-year lease.

One of the major changes coming to the park is the addition of the premium club area in the current press box, but Griggs said the Orioles were cognizant of how that section serves only a small portion of fans. The standing-room area under the scoreboard, and the introduction of two new club-level bars, will serve a wider array of attendees.

Baltimore is removing some suites from the club level to introduce the two glassed-in bars on the first- and third-base lines.

“We have plenty of suites, but what we were missing was, we have 4,000 or so fans on the club level who have seats outside, but when they come into the concourse, they lose connection with what makes this place so special, which is the ballfield,” Griggs said. “While you have the air conditioned space inside, today the trade-off is, if you go inside that air conditioned space, you lose your connection with the game itself.”

By sacrificing some suite spaces, the Orioles feel they will elevate the experience for many in the club level.

Griggs said the club level hasn’t been substantially renovated since Camden Yards opened in 1992, and this offers the chance to modernize the area “while retaining the baseball field, which, to be blunt, isn’t really reflected in the architects’ renderings.”

“Fans can remain connected to the game and have that opportunity to be social if that’s what they want to do, or just go inside for a minute, take a breather, grab a beverage and watch the game from a different perspective,” Griggs said. “That’s something that we really wanted to bring to life.”

The ballpark renovations have begun. Some seats have been removed underneath the current video board so the foundation can be strengthened when the new scoreboard is installed. In addition, there will be new ribbon video boards along grandstand façades and a new out-of-town scoreboard on the right-field wall.

Beyond those public-facing improvements, Camden Yards will undergo stainless steel painting, a chiller plant replacement and a new control room to operate the upgraded audio and video capabilities.

Griggs has been cognizant not to overextend the renovations in one offseason. Part of the next stage, which will likely occur in the winter after the 2026 season, will be upgrades to player areas, such as the clubhouses.

But concurrently the Orioles are nearing the completion of upgraded facilities at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida, where the club holds spring training. Baltimore announced a roughly $21 million player development facility with a pitching lab in February.

That is “something we know that they want, know that they care about, and something we know will help us have a stronger, even more competitive team moving forward,” Griggs said. “That was a priority for this season ... and we’re already having conversations with baseball ops to make sure we understand what are the changes that would be most desirable” at Camden Yards from a player performance and comfort perspective.