BALTIMORE — It doesn't seem all that long ago Baltimore was celebrating.
WMAR's Shawn Stepner posted this on X, formerly known as Twitter, from Camden Yards on September 28. Orioles Chairman John Angelos and Gov. Wes Moore on the big screen, paired with an announcement: a memo of understanding to keep the Orioles in Baltimore, to raucous applause.
But more than two months later, the state of Maryland and the Orioles have not put pen to paper.
What was announced on September 28 was a memorandum of understanding, not a signed deal. As the end of the year looms, so has some anxiety over the deal's status, and what's in the deal itself.
As a state senator, Justin Ready (R) approves members of the Maryland Stadium Authority, which oversees the conduct of stadiums in the state. In an interview with WMAR, he echoed concerns with language in the MOU which, he described, would peel back that state body's oversight over the ballpark.
"Since so much taxpayer money is going to it," Ready explained, "we should have an oversight and accountability to how that money is spent on the stadium."
"Taxpayers have put," he said, "multiplied, hundreds of millions of dollars into Oriole Park for the last several decades - and look, it's been a great economic driver for us, and it's still, I think, the greatest ballpark in the country, but, we need oversight and accountability from what comes with the Maryland Stadium Authority."
The Orioles, to be sure, would be getting considerable public money for upgrades. As of Tuesday, the negotiating parties are mum on the status of the deal.
On Tuesday, WMAR reached out to the Governor's office, the club itself, the Stadium Authority, and other state representatives and did not hear back.
"This is important for the Batlimore economy," said Cory McCray (D), a state senator representing part of the city, "so there is a little bit of angst to make sure something does take place. I've heard a number of rumors - whether it's a 1 year deal, whether it's the deal in its entirety- but something has to get done, that way we can make sure the future of the Baltimore Orioles is in Baltimore."
The current deal expires on December 31.
