By Edward G. Robinson III
AFRO Contributing Sports Editor
erobinson@afro.com
All appeared anew as Orioles Park at Camden Yards opened its gates early on March 28 in anticipation of Baltimore’s first game of the Major League Baseball season.
Orioles fans – sporting black caps and orange jerseys – entered the grounds before 9 a.m. to start celebrating Opening Day and preparing for the team’s 3:05 p.m. start against the Los Angeles Angels.
Meanwhile, inside the warehouse on the sixth floor the team’s new owner, David Rubenstein, met with the media during a morning press conference and introduced himself and members of his ownership group.
“I didn’t do this by myself,” he said. “There was a whole group of people who worked on this for many, many months. … To buy a baseball team it takes a city. It takes a village to buy a baseball team.”
Rubenstein, a philanthropist son of the city, provided a glimpse of the type of owner fans can expect – candid, humorous and discerning.
“I really want to say to Baltimore,” he said. “This is a new day, a new chapter. We’ve had some challenges in the past but we’re looking forward.”
That message was meant to resonate with a city that has seen some challenges – including the devastating news of a cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused it to collapse on March 27.
Six workers died in the wreckage.
Gov. Wes Moore and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott both called for a state of emergency and have worked with state officials to provide relief for families and state workers.
Moore said the state is working with the federal government and industry leaders to help clear the wreckage and start planning for a rebuild of the bridge.
Moore introduced Rubenstein at the press conference and tied the state’s recovery from this current tragedy to the team’s successful settlement over the past year.
Rubenstein’s group negotiated with John Angelos, son of Peter Angelos, on a sale price for the team. This after John Angelos helped the Orioles land a long-term lease agreement with the state of Maryalnd in December – keeping the team in the city for the next 30 years.
“Baltimore is being tested right now,” Moore said. “But Baltimore has been tested before. And every time, we stand up on two feet. We dust ourselves off. And we keep moving forward. Baltimore may get knocked down, but Baltimore doesn’t stay down.”
Moore called for Maryland citizens to join the recovery operation.
“In this game, nobody gets to sit on the sidelines, ” he said.
Rubenstein, 74, is the co-founder and co-chairman of the Carlyle Group – a successful global investment firm. He was born and raised and educated in Baltimore.
“I really want to give back to Baltimore in a modest way, my expression of appreciation for all of what Baltimore has done for me over the years and done for my family,” said Rubenstein, whose parents grew up in the city. He attended Baltimore City College.
“David is a Baltimore guy,” Moore said. “To have him at the helm of this team means everything to this city and this state.”
On March 27, Major League Baseball owners unanimously approved the 1.7-billion sale of the Orioles – Baltimore’s storied franchise owned by the Angelos family for three decades – to Rubenstein’s investment group.
That group includes, among others, Michael Arougheti, co-founder and CEO of Ares Management, and Cal Ripken Jr., the Hall of Fame third baseman, who both spoke at the press conference.
Ripken recalled loving the Orioles as a 5-year-old. Then he dreamed of playing for the team for 20 years. Then he became a member of the team. Then he retired and he bought an affiliate team where he learned about business.
Now it’s time for the Iron Man to return.
“This is a wonderful time for me to come back and be a part of the Orioles organization,” Ripken Jr. said. “And help out in any way that I can. I’m really looking forward to that.”
Rubenstein also thanked John Angelos for overcoming some tough times in negotiating. Now past the tough part, Rubenstein joked about the expense.
He recalled that when the Orioles first came to Baltimore in 1954, the team’s purchase price was $2.2 million.
“My partners and I are paying a little bit more than that,” he said. “Inflation being what it is. But we’re proud of every penny we’re paying because it’s worth every penny we’re paying.”
Then Rubenstein called on Orioles fans to unify around the goal of helping the team win the World Series.
“I hope this is not the high water mark,” he said. “Today is an easy day to say everything is great. Hopefully we’ll win on opening day…I want the high water mark to be in the fall when we go to the World Series and we show that we are a city that supports a great team. … And we unify the city in only ways the Orioles really do.”