The rumors about MLB’s Orioles leaving Baltimore have been denied by the franchise’s chairman and CEO John Angelos. In a statement shared on Monday, Angelos said that he has no intention of moving Orioles and that the team will remain in the city “as long as Fort McHenry is standing watch over Inner Harbor.”
The source of Orioles’ relocation rumors was actually John’s brother Louis Angelos. Louis recently filed a lawsuit in which he says that his brother is seeking to seize control over the franchise with plans to move it to Tennessee.
“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 states.
However, in a statement shared on Orioles’ official social media, John Angelos says that there is “nothing uncertain about Orioles future” and that the team is staying put.
“The Orioles will forever play at Oriole Park, and at no time ever have we contemplated anything different,” the statement said.
The Orioles have been playing in Baltimore since 1954. The team was purchased by John and Louis’ father, Peter Angelos, in 1993 for $173 million, which was a record for a sports franchise at the time. However, due to deteriorating health, Angelos Sr. decided to establish a trust and make his sons and his wife Georgia co-trustees.
