The Orioles broke with 25 years of tradition by hosting a Billy Joel concert last summerGETTY IMAGES
The Orioles franchise is "banking partly on its remaining superstar," the popular Camden Yards, to "draw in fans with 'major headliner concerts' and other events in the future," according to Jeff Barker of the BALTIMORE SUN. The club said that it is "exploring updates" to the ballpark to help draw more events. Orioles Senior VP/Administration & Experience Greg Bader said that among the changes "up for conversation" is whether the ballpark "still needs 46,000 seats." Barker notes many newer ballparks "look different than Camden Yards," and many are "smaller and include open concourses with field views, and stadium clubs for VIPs that offer prime, low-level field views." Bader said that he sees the ballpark being used "increasingly for non-baseball activities such as music festivals or food festivals 'and some smaller acts that maybe are going to be paired with games.'" Last summer, the team "broke with more than 25 years of team tradition" by holding a Billy Joel concert. The team believes that sold-out concert "can be a model for future marquee events." Orioles Senior VP/Community Development & Communications Jennifer Grondahl said, "That is not going to be a unique event. That is literally going to be the start of something." Bader added that fans can "anticipate 'major headliner concerts like that in the near future.'" Barker notes the Orioles this past season averaged 16,347 fans per home game, the "lowest since Camden Yards opened" in '92. The team also recently "decided to drop FanFest" in '20 (BALTIMORE SUN, 11/8).
