Orioles owner David Rubenstein wants D.C. execs to “make the trip to Oriole Park at Camden Yards and potentially sponsor his new team,” and he is “opening up the owner's box to try and help his cause,” according to Garrett Dvorkin of the BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL. Rubenstein on Tuesday night invited members of the Economic Club of Washington D.C. to “join him for a game” in Baltimore during one of the club's events. Rubenstein said that the offer has “one condition: after the executives enjoy the game from his owner’s box, they have to come back as paying customers and either purchase their own box or sponsor the team.” Dvorkin noted Rubenstein made his remarks before a crowd of “about 500 executives and dignitaries” at the Ritz-Carlton ballroom in downtown D.C. as “part of an onstage interview” that also included Baseball HOFer Cal Ripken Jr. Rubenstein “acknowledged luring D.C. baseball fans to Baltimore has been a harder proposition” since the Nationals arrived in 2005. Attracting more fans from the capital region could also “help boost attendance at Camden Yards.” Rubenstein “further enticed” the execs saying that if they “sponsor the team or buy a box they can meet the players and hang out with him in the dugout.” Rubenstein said that another way he can “help Baltimore become more ‘vibrant’” is by “developing land around Camden Yards.” When he purchased the team, he previously said that he is “working to get a development rights deal done ‘as soon as possible’” (BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/1).
DOLLARS & SENSE: Rubenstein said that determining how much to spend on players is “complicated.” In Baltimore, Jeff Barker noted the Orioles “ranked among the bottom five in payroll” in each of the past five seasons and entered this year 26th of 30 MLB teams with a mark of $92.9M. Rubenstein said, “It’s not easy to figure out how much money you put in.” Rubenstein: “It’s a complicated mixture of things that have to come together. You have to figure out how to keep your players happy. You want them to stay with you. I’m going to try to do the best I can” (BALTIMORE SUN, 4/30).
