Embroiled in a lawsuit against his brother over control of the Baltimore Orioles and Angelos family fortune, Orioles chairman and CEO John Angelos said in a statement Monday that the baseball team is here to stay in Baltimore.
Louis Angelos sued his brother John and their mother on Thursday, claiming that John had usurped control over the baseball team that their father, lawyer and longtime Orioles owner Peter Angelos, had intended for the brothers to share.
In the lawsuit, Louis cast doubt on whether the team would even remain in Baltimore under John.
“John intends to maintain absolute control over the Orioles — to manage, to sell, or, if he chooses, to move to Tennessee (where he has a home and where his wife’s career is headquartered) — without having to answer to anyone,” the lawsuit said.
But in a statement on Monday, John insisted that the Orioles aren’t going anywhere.
“Maryland is committed to keeping our team in this great state, and I am equally committed to keeping the Orioles at the heart of our state,” John said in his statement.
He went on to say that the Orioles “will forever remain in the only city that our family and our partnership group has called, or will ever call, home – the finest city and birthplace of our national anthem of which we are enduringly proud and to which we are forever committed.”
The following is the full statement from John Angelos:
“As I have said before, as long as Fort McHenry is standing watch over the Inner Harbor, the Orioles will remain in Baltimore.
“My mother was born and raised in northeast Baltimore, attended city public schools at Eastern High School, and has worked with my father their entire lives to help the city, including by restoring the club to local ownership and preventing its relocation. For them, as for me, the Orioles will forever play at Oriole Park, and at no time ever have we contemplated anything different.
“Since I was appointed Chairman and CEO according to my parents’ expressed wishes, and voted as the control person for the team by the 30 Major League Clubs, I have taken significant steps to ensure that our beloved franchise’s future remains in Charm City. Just two months ago we celebrated the Maryland General Assembly passing a bill promising to put $1.2 billion into reinvesting and reimagining the Camden Yards Sports Complex, which includes Oriole Park, ensuring the team will continue to play right here in downtown Baltimore for generations to come. Maryland is committed to keeping our team in this great state, and I am equally committed to keeping the Orioles at the heart of our state. As stewards of “The Ballpark That Forever Changed Baseball,” we will continue to strengthen our community, generate another $10 billion in economic impact for the City of Baltimore and State of Maryland, and welcome another 70 million people to downtown Baltimore over the next 30 years and beyond. There is nothing uncertain about the future of the Baltimore Orioles.
“I want to assure our Orioles players and coaches, our dedicated front office Senior Leadership Team and staff, and our devoted fans, trusted partners, elected, civic, and non-profit leaders, and our entire community, that the Orioles will never leave. From 33rd Street to Camden Yards, the Birds of Baltimore, the iconic team of Brooks, Earl, Jim, Frank, Cal, and Eddie, will forever remain in the only city that our family and our partnership group has called, or will ever call, home – the finest city and birthplace of our national anthem of which we are enduringly proud and to which we are forever committed.”
… And they will never win a World Series ever again…