BALTIMORE SUN: Opening day is synonymous with fresh beginnings and, this year, it could mark a new era for the Orioles.
A group led by Baltimore native and billionaire David Rubenstein has an agreement to buy the Orioles, but it is still awaiting approval from Major League Baseball’s owners, which is the final hurdle in the sale being finalized. The owners are scheduled to vote on the transaction Wednesday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the scheduled vote.
The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because the vote has not been officially announced. The vote is expected to receive the requisite approval — 23 of MLB’s 30 owners must vote in favor of the sale.
Approval by a full vote of MLB owners just ahead of the opening day — the Orioles begin their season Thursday at home against the Los Angeles Angels — would conclude what has been a busy offseason for the Orioles.
In December, the team agreed to a lease with the state of Maryland to continue playing at state-owned Oriole Park at Camden Yards for at least 15 years. Then a month later, news broke of a sale between a Rubenstein-led group and the Angelos family, the longtime owners of the Orioles. In February, MLB owners began discussing the change in ownership and in early March, a committee of MLB owners OK’d the deal.
The Maryland Stadium Authority board last week approved the sale, as required by their lease with the Orioles in a specially scheduled meeting. That OK’d the transfer to Inner Harbor Sports LLC, an entity formed Jan. 11 in Delaware. Both Rubenstein and Ares Management co-founder Michael Arougheti, who is part of the new ownership group, are listed as co-presidents of the LLC.
The ownership group is also expected to include Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr., former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg, former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke, Basketball Hall of Famer Grant Hill and Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang.
