Orioles Claim Ravens Received Unfair Advantage

Orioles' Claim Ravens Got Better Deal

Retain Clinton lawyer to get "comparable terms" in lease, including right to sell the name of Camden Yards

Baltimore, Maryland, July 28, 2000 -- In a grown up version of "that’s not fair," the Baltimore Orioles have brought a "parity" claim against the state of Maryland, claiming that the Baltimore Ravens football team received a better deal from the state with its stadium than the Orioles received.

According to Baltimore Sun the Orioles have hired David Kendall, the personal attorney to President and Mrs. Clinton. Kendall has represented the Clintons since 1993, through Whitewater, travelgate, and most recently, the impeachment mess. The Sun quotes Kendall as saying "I'm looking forward to the case. It presents some very interesting issues of equity and parity."

The Orioles are using a clause in their lease that guarantees them "fairly comparable" terms in the event that an NFL franchise were to move to Baltimore. The Orioles are seeking rent abatements, new skyboxes, interest-free loans and other compensation from their landlord, the Maryland Stadium Authority. The Orioles raised this claim shortly after the Ravens arrived in 1996.

A panel of arbitrators was chosen to decide the claim. The decision of the panel will be final, and not appealable to a court. Should the Orioles prevail, the team would see its profits and value soar at the expense of the Maryland taxpayers. The team attorney said that "money won in the case could find its way into fielding better players, to the benefit of fans. We’d love to find ways to put the best possible product on the field."

The paper reports that the Stadium Authority, which built and owns the Camden Yards complex, says the Orioles are owed nothing and that the team's lease is in many respects better than the Ravens'. The general counsel for the Stadium Authority, stated that "we think if you put their side's numbers and our side's numbers together, we meet the definition of fairly comparable or that the Ravens lease is worse."

The following were among the list of demands the Orioles were making:
--Rent credits equal to $14 million, plus interest.
--The right to sell the name of Oriole Park to a corporate sponsor
--An interest-free loan of $15 million to make stadium improvements.
--More skyboxes.
--A New scoreboard.

This case is being watched closely by sports executives and fans. Martin J. Greenberg of Milwaukee, a stadium-lease expert and consultant who the Orioles have contacted about appearing as a witness, said "I think it's a seminal case, and it's an area that has few if any legal decisions and arbitration precedents. He said one impact is already being seen: cities and states are reluctant to include parity provisions in new leases with their sports teams.

One fan wrote in the Washington Post: "The name Oriole Park at Camden Yards is valuable to the city and the game in obvious ways no corporate deal could be. It also is a sign of hope that there’s some limit to professional sports’ pursuit of every stray dollar—a sight that is increasingly distasteful to everyday sports fans, whether they see the money going to faceless millionaires in office suites or millionaires on the field with numbers on their backs." To this writer, there are clearly some things more important than money. Tell that to the Orioles.

Matt Roberts