High-definition replays will be coming to Orioles Park at Camden Yards next season under a settlement between the baseball team and the Maryland Stadium Authority approved Wednesday by the state Board of Public Works in Annapolis.
Comptroller Peter Franchot, who serves on the board with the governor and state treasurer, also used the meeting to promote his efforts to grab the D.C. United soccer team and build a stadium for it in the Maryland suburbs.
Authority Chairman Fred Puddester said the $9 million approved by the board will allow purchase of a “totally new ballpark information system,” enhancing its capabilities and maintaining a quality environment for fans.
He said he hopes it will be ready by the start of the 2008 season.
“It?s going to be close, it?s going to be tough” to have it installed by then, said Alan Rifkin, an attorney for the Orioles. Rifkin emphasized the same team of architects and designers that created the Jumbotron 15 years ago will bein charge of the new installation.
The Stadium Authority and ballclub have had many disputes over the years, and this was one of them. The team will be putting up $5.25 million for the new audiovisual system from a dispute settlement it won from the authority, Rifkin said.
“The Orioles were quite generous,” Rifkin said. “Both parties care an awful lot about this.”
In a letter Tuesday, Franchot asked Puddester to pursue building a new stadium for the D.C. United soccer team. Negotiations between the owners of the team and city officials to build a new stadium in Southeast D.C. apparently have stalled.
“Professional sports venues can be a dependable catalyst for economic development that is compatible with Smart Growth principles,” Franchot said.
They can also generate jobs, tourism dollars and tax revenues.
“We?re working on it,” Puddester said. “We?ve already begun the process.”
“I think it?s very premature to talk about finances,” Puddester said. “We?ll start now and see how far it takes us.”
