BALTIMORE - Oriole Park @ Camden Yards (45,971)

[KLynch]

Here is an article on the stadium upgrades. Still very few pictures, but that's usually how things go at this stadium. They will be lowering the Right field wall for better views from Eutaw Street, should be nice, but scary for pitchers.

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore...-outlines.html

[BoulderGrad]

Originally Posted by KLynch

Here is an article on the stadium upgrades. Still very few pictures, but that's usually how things go at this stadium. They will be lowering the Right field wall for better views from Eutaw Street, should be nice, but scary for pitchers.

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore...-outlines.html

'Oriole owner Peter Angelos, Smith said, wants to make sure Oriole Park does not become a place where “all you can do is sit down and watch a baseball game.”'

Oh the horror....

I'm all for some more cushy food and drink choices than nachos with cheese that's been grown in a reactor or piss water beer, or perhaps allowing the team to peddle more merchandise...

But really...? you're at the damn stadium to watch the damn game...

[Scba]

And right now no one's at the stadium in the first place because the team on the field blows. Maybe fix that, Mr. Angelos.

[KLynch]

Originally Posted by BoulderGrad

'Oriole owner Peter Angelos, Smith said, wants to make sure Oriole Park does not become a place where “all you can do is sit down and watch a baseball game.”'

I'm no Peter Angelos fan, but he was referring to the fact that they are trying to make it a year round attraction with the monument park, and new restaurant.

I think the rooftop bar will be pretty cool, they should keep that open year round too. Drinking on a rooftop deck is so very baltimore!

[en1044]

I'm glad they're lowering the Eutaw Street wall. It would be nice to get some cheap tickets and watch the game there from time to time, but I'm just not tall enough. That's how bad it is.

[mrakbaseball]

Camden Yards 20th Anniversary site Oriole Park at Camden Yards 20th Anniversary

[nyrmetros]

Originally Posted by mrakbaseball

Camden Yards 20th Anniversary site Oriole Park at Camden Yards 20th Anniversary

I can not believe it's going on 20 years already. Yowzers.

[TommyCarcetti]

(Courtesy, The Baltimore Orioles, Baltimore Sun / March 23, 2012)

Peter Schmuck 5:39 p.m. EDT, March 24, 2012

Orioles fans have known since December that their ballpark at Camden Yards will have a different look when the O's open the regular season against the Minnesota Twins on April 6. Now, it's time to take an early peek at the changes that are being made for Oriole Park's season-long 20th Anniversary celebration.

The Orioles have made the first rendering of the most visible improvements available to The Baltimore Sun to give fans a preview of how the ballpark will look when all of the modifications are complete.

"It's all part of making it a richer experience," said Orioles executive vice president of business operations Doug Duennes. "Like anything in life, if you stand still you're going to get passed by. If you look at any of the ballparks that have been built since Camden Yards, after the first five, 10 or 20 years, teams take a look at different trends, to see how we can improve on it."

Camden Yards already is known as one of the most fan-friendly stadiums in professional sports, and its nouveau-traditional design changed the way ballparks and stadiums have been built for the last two decades.

That's not just me talking. Orioles Park sparked an architectural revolution in sports construction that has altered the cityscape in major sports markets across America and contributed mightily to Major League Baseball's dramatic economic renaissance.

Author and political commentator George Will once called the opening of Camden Yards one of the three most important developments in the baseball during the post-war era, along with Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier and the advent of free agency.

The only challenge left is keeping it fresh now that it is — almost shockingly — the 10th oldest ballpark in the major leagues.

"This comes from a mandate from Peter Angelos to keep the place lively," said Janet Marie Smith, a key player in the original design of the ballpark who is overseeing the improvement project. "He didn't want the ballpark to ever look tired."

Don't know if it was really ever in danger of that, but the alterations will make the park even more fan-friendly and likely will make it more hitter-friendly, too.

Take a look. The short porch in right field has been made a little bit shorter to make it easier for fans to see the field —with four feet of the 25-foot wall replaced by railing— and the picnic area behind center field is being transformed into a more accessible gathering place that includes a new bar and a seating section atop the batter's eye wall. The area will be open to the public year-round during daylight hours when the team is not playing a home game.

The new raised seating area is a bit reminiscent of the cool section atop the Green Monster at Fenway Park, so even the legions of irritating Red Sox fans who travel down each summer will feel more at home.

There also will be new concessions at the north end of Eutaw Street, new flooring and wall coverings throughout the main concourse, a new restaurant and a canopy added to the B&O Warehouse to help fans stay dry on rainy days.

Though most of the upgrades should be completed by Opening Day, the center pieces of the center field renovation — statues of the Orioles' six Hall of Famers —will be unveiled on six special dates over the course of the season. Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer, Earl Weaver, Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken Jr. each will have a day or night in his honor to celebrate his contribution to the modern franchise's storied history.

The construction-related upgrades were funded with $1.8 million from the Maryland Stadium Authority's Supplemental Improvements Fund. The statues and a lot more was paid for by the Orioles, who should be able to offset some of that cost with the big gates from the six special nights honoring the Hall of Famers. The club already has unveiled a special six-game ticket plan for those games and will distribute collectible replicas of the statue unveiled to fans in attendance at each game.

Well-known Maryland sculptor Antonio Mendez, who has produced two public sculptures of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, as well as statues of Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan in Arlington, Texas and coaching great Don Shula in Miami, created all six statues, which have been cast into bronze by the New Arts Foundry in Baltimore.

peter.schmuck@baltsun.com

Read Peter Schmuck's blog, The Schmuck Stops Here at baltimoresun.com/schmuckblog and listen when he co-hosts "The Week in Review" at noon Fridays on WBAL (1090 AM) and at wbal.com.

[KLynch]

Can't wait! So excited about the roof top bar/concession. That is such a great way to tie a Baltimore tradition into the design. Pre-game on a Federal Hill roof deck, and go to a Camden Yards roof deck.

[KLynch]

Video of the upgrades at Camden Yards.

http://southbmore.com/feature-video-...-camden-yards/

[en1044]

Camden looked great on TV today. The place still has it strong.

[nyrmetros]

Place still has its original character... Just fix the team..

[en1044]

Cool!

Stashik and the Orioles were recognized for having the best overall display throughout the Major Leagues, an honor bestowed by their peers.

http://www.mlb.com/cutfour/article.j...05284&c_id=bal

[po-boy]

I've been to eleven MLB ballparks and this one is my favorite. They did a fantastic job of making it modern and comfortable while giving it a classic feel and some character/unique touches. At twenty years old Camden is a classic!

If you are a baseball/architecture fan, you should make a trip to check out this ballpark!

[scolls]

As I Tiger fan, I was watching the Baltimore-Chicago series and could not believe how empty the park looked. With the Orioles leading the wild card, and playing a first place team, I didn't expect the stadium to look that empty.

[FloridaKnight]

Originally Posted by scolls

As I Tiger fan, I was watching the Baltimore-Chicago series and could not believe how empty the park looked. With the Orioles leading the wild card, and playing a first place team, I didn't expect the stadium to look that empty.

Really? I didn't see that game, but from some of the highlights I've been seeing of them playing this season, it has been looking uncharacteristically full.

[en1044]

Originally Posted by FloridaKnight

Really? I didn't see that game, but from some of the highlights I've been seeing of them playing this season, it has been looking uncharacteristically full.

You would be correct. Attendance in Baltimore is actually higher this year than last year. There's a lot of stuff going on in the city right now, the Grand Prix being one of them. From what I've heard, driving around and parking around the stadium complex hasn't been fun because of the preparations for the race.

Come next home stand I expect attendance to increase dramatically. Especially if they win the series against the Yankees this weekend.

[scolls]

The Orioles are currently 8th in the AL in attendance, and the official attendance for the Chicago series was 10,955, 12,841, 13,098, 10,141. There was hardly anyone sitting in the outfield. It seemed rather odd given the Orioles success and the fact the White Sox are a first place team. Last time they drew 30,000 + for an entire series was against Detroit in July. Since then they only drew 30,000 or more once and that was one game against Kansas City. They're routinely drawing 25,000 the second half. That leaves roughly 20,000 empty seats. Just a little over half filled

[Marckymarc]

Originally Posted by scolls

The Orioles are currently 8th in the AL in attendance, and the official attendance for the Chicago series was 10,955, 12,841, 13,098, 10,141. There was hardly anyone sitting in the outfield. It seemed rather odd given the Orioles success and the fact the White Sox are a first place team. Last time they drew 30,000 + for an entire series was against Detroit in July. Since then they only drew 30,000 or more once and that was one game against Kansas City. They're routinely drawing 25,000 the second half. That leaves roughly 20,000 empty seats. Just a little over half filled

The O's have been so mediocre for so long it will take more than one good season for the fans to return. it usually takes 2 years of good play to win fans back.

[scolls]

I would've figured by now people would know the team is good and draw more than 12,000 people when they are playing another first place team. The Tigers in 2006 drew 2.5 million when they were coming off 13 losing seasons and only 3 years removed from losing 119 games. At that time, it was the second highest attendance year for the team.