A planned lease and development deal for the Orioles “crashed spectacularly on Friday just before it was set for a public announcement,” according to Pamela Wood of the BALTIMORE BANNER. It is believed the parties have “continued talking about what’s next and whether the agreement can be salvaged” or if they need to “go back to the drawing board.” Wood noted it is possible that the two sides “could come to a new agreement by the end of the year encompassing both the priorities" of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Orioles CEO & Chair John Angelos, while also “addressing concerns that scuttled the deal last week.” Angelos has “made clear he wants both a lease for the ballpark itself” and the “rights to redevelop areas around the park.” Last week’s deal “ran into objections” from Senate President Bill Ferguson, who has publicly said that the lease “should come first before development -- and the two were intertwined in the proposal put forward on Friday.” When Moore was forced to walk the deal back on Friday, senior officials on his staff indicated that they “may have to put forward some sort of a stopgap measure to keep the Orioles at Camden Yards while negotiations continue.” The entire Maryland Stadium Authority board is “not scheduled to meet again until January" (BALTIMORE BANNER, 12/11).
