Baltimore Orioles fans react to team reportedly turning down lease option at Camden Yards: "Portland Orioles, coming soon", "Bye Bye Orioles!"

The Baltimore Orioles will not be exercising the five-year option in their lease at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, according to a report from the Baltimore Sun newspaper.

The Orioles' current lease expires at the end of 2023, and is reportedly planning to "secure a longer-term, more comprehensive stadium agreement," according to the Sun.

The city of Baltimore Stadium Authority and the Orioles have been operating under a lease extension signed in 2021. The extension was added to the original lease that dates back to 1992, when the team moved from Memorial Stadium to Camden Yards.

While the Orioles insist that the team merely seeks a longer-term arrangement under a new lease, the news left Baltimore fans wary of what having the Orioles essentially being a free agent organization could mean.

While there would be uproar from around the league if the Orioles were to explore moving, there are a number of american cities that would welcome the "Birds" should they choose to take flight.

Baltimore Orioles fans have long loathed the Angelos family that owns the team. A city with a reputation for supporting the team strongly has had to deal with a long barren run bereft of success from the organization they support. Thursday's stadium news had Angelos haters venting.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards has long been held as the Gold Standard of MLB stadiums after the era in which baseball and football largely shared facilities around the United States. Built exclusively for baseball and the Orioles, the ballpark has influenced all MLB stadiums that have followed for the past 30 years.

While many Orioles fans are panicking, others have faith that the team isn't going anywhere.

Baltimore Orioles see opportunity in reworking their lease

Gunnar Henderson #2 of the Baltimore Orioles looks on against the Houston Astros at Oriole Park at Camden Yards

The Baltimore Orioles and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore issued a joint news release on the long-term viability of the team in the city it has played since 1954. The release expressed “commitment to creating a long-term, multi-decade, public-private partnership that both develops and revitalizes the Camden Yards complex as a magnet for sports tourism and leverages Maryland taxpayers’ investment in the property.”

Orioles Chairman and CEO John Angelos noted in the release that the club and state have a “tremendous opportunity to redefine the paradigm of what a Major League Baseball venue represents and thereby revitalize downtown Baltimore.”

Only time will tell what the future has in store for the Orioles and the city of Baltimore.