Maryland politicians critical of John Angelos amid sale of Orioles

The baseball world got a shocking development this week when it was reported that the Angelos family would be selling the club to an investment group led by David Rubenstein. The next day, the club confirmed the agreement with an announcement of the $1.725 billion sale.

Details continue to trickle out about the deal, with Pamela Wood of the Baltimore Banner looking backward to the club’s negotiations with the state of Maryland. The Orioles and state officials were in contact for much of last year. The club’s lease of Camden Yards was set to expire after 2023, and the two sides took talks down to the middle of December before a new lease was approved.

There were plenty of speed bumps along the way. It was in early December that it was initially reported that Rubenstein was in talks to purchase the club. That seemed to delay the lease talks, with state senator Bill Ferguson expressing trepidation about giving out land development rights to an organization with an unclear ownership structure. The land development rights were part of the talks because John Angelos was reportedly attempting to leverage the negotiations into getting public land for a mixed-use project, combining Camden Yards with commercial and residential spaces.

Per Wood’s report, Angelos did not give Gov. Wes Moore or other state officials any kinds of heads up about the sale agreement. Treasurer Dereck Davis said that Angelos “categorically denied that that they were for sale” before selling the team. “It wasn’t just that we weren’t told something. We were lied to,” Davis said.

“The transparency that was required — it was not there,” Gov. Moore said. “And it’s disappointing.”

“I do think that John’s behavior displayed an incredible lack of respect for the state and our role in working with the Baltimore Orioles and our role as the owners of the home of the Baltimore Orioles,” comptroller Brooke Lierman said. “It’s incredibly disappointing, although, frankly not surprising.” Despite the harsh words, it seems state officials suspected something was up and proceeded accordingly. “That said, we crafted an agreement in such a way that it would not matter who owned the Orioles because I think many of us believed that the Angelos family’s days as owners were numbered anyways,” Lierman said. “It was important for us to protect the state and taxpayers and our assets, no matter who the owners are.”

Although the two sides did eventually get a deal done, Angelos did not get the land he craved. The 30-year agreement does give the club a chance to opt out after 15 years if they don’t get a development deal within the next four years. Ken Rosenthal and Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic also reported on the sale this week, relaying that some people in baseball believe that the lack of a land deal was part of what motivated Angelos to sell. On top of that, the family is also looking to improve its liquidity. Rosenthal and Ghiroli relay that they are looking to sell various assets, including One Charles Center, a 22-story office tower in Baltimore.

Going forward, the sale still needs to be approved by Major League Baseball. The owners are having a scheduled meeting next week but Buster Olney of ESPN reports that the sale is not on the docket. Rosenthal and Ghiroli suggest it will likely take months for the league to conduct background checks on everyone in the ownership group. Per Wood and Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner, the full group includes New York businessman Michael Arougheti, his partners Mitchell Goldstein and Michael Smith, Orioles Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of Baltimore Kurt Schmoke, Washington Spirit majority owner Michele Kang and NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill.

There’s also the future of the MASN issue to be considered. The Orioles and Nationals share ownership of the network, which has the broadcast rights for both clubs, with the O’s currently owning 76% of the network but dropping to 67% by 2032. Those details were worked out as part of the agreement to move the Expos from Montreal to Washington almost 20 years ago. As a compromise for moving a club into Baltimore’s territorial range, the O’s got control of the Nationals’ TV rights and the two sides have been disputing the finances of that arrangement for quite some time.

The Lerner family has been trying to sell the Nats for almost two years now, announcing in April 2022 that they would explore the possibility. There’s been little apparent progress toward a deal, however, with reporting from about this time a year ago suggesting the MASN dispute was a key factor. Rosenthal and Ghiroli suggest that Rubenstein might sell the O’s share of MASN to Ted Leonsis, with some in the industry expecting that to eventually happen.

Leonsis owns the Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals and Washington Mystics, as well as the Monumental Sports Network, which broadcasts those three clubs. Getting the Orioles’ TV rights could enhance the programming options for Monumental. It was reported in November 2022 that the Lerner family was hoping to get $2.5 billion in selling the Nats but the TV rights situation was preventing them from getting to that price point. Rosenthal and Ghiroli report Thursday that Leonsis had offered $2.2 billion. It’s unknown whether Leonsis acquiring Baltimore’s MASN share would impact any future negotiations with the Lerners.

All told, there will be plenty of domino effects worth watching out for as the situation progresses.