Tenant: Baltimore Orioles (AL)
Opened: April 6, 1992
Surface: Maryland Bluegrass
Capacity: 48,262

Architect: HOK Sport (Kansas City)
Construction: Barton Malow / Sverdrup; Danobe Construction
Owner: Maryland Stadium Authority
Cost: $100 million

Baltimore Orioles tickets:

• Viewpoint Tickets - Best prices on Orioles tickets, Baseball tickets and MLB All Star tickets.

Location: Left field (N by NW), Camden Street; third base (W by SW), Russell Street; first base (S by SE), Martin Luther King Boulevard; right field (E by NE), Howard Street.

Dimensions: Left field: 333 ft. (1992), 337 ft. (2001), 333 ft. (2002); left-center: 364 ft. (1992), 376 ft. (2001) 364 ft. (2002); deepest left-center: 410 ft. (1992), 417 ft. (2001), 410 ft. (2002); center field: 400 ft. (1992), 407 ft. (2001), 400 ft. (2002); right-center: 373 ft. (1992), 391 ft. (2001), 373 ft. (2002); right field: 318 ft. (1992), 320 ft. (2001), 318 ft. (2002); backstop: 57 ft. (1992), 50 ft. (2001), 57 ft. (2002).

Fences: 25 ft. in right field, 7 ft. elsewhere.

When former Baltimore mayor William Donald Schaefer became governor of Maryland in the mid-1980s, he helped push plans for a baseball-only stadium through the state legislature. The plans also called for a football-only stadium next door and both would be financed by a new instant lottery game. Construction on an 85-acre site began in June 1989, took 33 months and cost $110 million. The success of Oriole Park at Camden Yards inspired other cities (Cleveland, Denver, etc.) to build their own versions of this new Retro style ballpark. Eli Jacobs, who owned the Orioles when the ballpark was built, wanted to call it Oriole Park. Schaefer preferred Camden Yards. Finally, they agreed on Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards Trivia:

• Site of the 1993 All-Star game.
• Camden Yards complex includes the Baltimore & Ohio Warehouse, the longest building on the East Coast (1,016 feet long by 51 feet wide).
• Warehouse contains Orioles’ offices as well as a cafeteria, sports bar, gift shop, and the exclusive Camden Club.
• Banks of lights are mounted on the roof of warehouse.
• Each aisle seat in the park features an 1890s Orioles logo.
• Unique double-decked bullpens in left-center field.
• Playing field is 16 feet below street level.
• Located only two blocks from Babe Ruth’s birthplace.
• Ruth’s father operated Ruth’s Cafe at 406 Conway Street, the site of which is now located in center field.
• Faced with brick to present a traditional appearance.
• Bronze baseballs imprinted in the cement of the Eutaw Street walkway commemorate home runs hit in the ballpark.
• The "H" in "The Sun" sign on top of the scoreboard will flash to show a scoring decision of a hit and the "E" will flash to show an error.
• Fans yell "O" (for Orioles) in unison when "The Star-Spangled Banner" reaches "O Say does that star-spangled banner yet wave..."
• Hideo Nomo threw the only no-hitter ever pitched here on April 4, 2001.
• Home plate was moved back seven feet for the 2001 season, but returned to its original spot the next season because, as team officials said, the new layout "adversely affected the viewing angle of the batter's eye." A significant drop in home runs had been observed in 2001.
• A red seat in left field (Section 86, Row FF, Seat 10) marks the spot where Cal Ripken hit home run number 278 in 1993, breaking Ernie Banks' record for most home runs hit by a shortstop. Ripken hit the seat again in 1995 while playing in consecutive game number 2130, which tied Lou Gherig's record.
• An orange seat in the bleachers (Section 96, Row D, Seat 23) marks the spot where Eddie Murray hit home run number 500 on September 6, 1996.

More on Oriole Park at Camden Yards:

• Seating chart

Recommended Reading (bibliography):

• Ballpark: Camden Yards and the Building of an American Dream by Peter Richmond.
• Home of the Game: The Story of Camden Yards by Thom Loverro.
• Fodor's Baseball Vacations, 3rd Edition: Great Family Trips to Minor League and Classic Major League Ballparks Across America by Bruce Adams and Margaret Engel.
• The Ultimate Baseball Road-Trip: A Fan's Guide to Major League Stadiums by Joshua Pahigian and Kevin O'Connell.
• Joe Mock's Ballpark Guide by Joe Mock.
• Take Me Out to the Ballpark: An Illustrated Tour of Baseball Parks Past and Present by Josh Leventhal and Jessica Macmurray.
• The Ballpark Book: A Journey Through the Fields of Baseball Magic (Revised Edition) by Ron Smith and Kevin Belford.
• Ballparks: A Panoramic History by Marc Sandalow and Jim Sutton.
• Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money into Private Profit (2nd Edition) by Joanna Cagan and Neil deMause.
• Public Dollars, Private Stadiums: The Battle over Building Sports Stadiums by Kevin J. Delaney and Rick Eckstein.
• Sports, Jobs, and Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums by Roger G. Noll and Andrew Zimbalist.