Marylanders should get ready for their wallets to be pried open. It’s clear from The Baltimore Sun’s reporting (“Orioles talks can produce plan to redevelop Camden Yards area and a stadium lease, Gov. Wes Moore says,” Aug. 30) that Gov. Wes Moore is eager to spend much more than the $600 million already promised for Oriole Park improvements in order to feather the nest of his friend and campaign contributor, John Angelos, by creating a new entertainment district in Camden Yards.
 

The absurdity of shaking down state taxpayers for this purpose was demonstrated soon after the governor spoke, through the news that several schools without air conditioning would close early due to another heat wave. Using scarce capital to make the Orioles more profitable while schools need repairs, pools and recreation centers remain closed, and so much city infrastructure is crumbling should shock the conscience. (Per Forbes estimates, the Oriole’s 2022 operating income was $67 million; the franchise is worth about $1 billion more than the Angelos family paid for it)

By refusing to sign a long-term lease for his team, John Angelos has played up Baltimoreans’ fears that he might take the team elsewhere. There is zero chance of that happening: Major League Baseball is not going to abandon the 20th largest metropolitan area in the country — especially since this would prevent MLB from someday selling an expansion franchise in a smaller but growing market (such as Angelos’ second home, Nashville, currently 35th in metro population).
 

When we elected Governor Moore, we hoped for better. Public officials represent taxpayers in negotiations with special interest groups, not the other way around. In these negotiations, all the leverage is on the state’s side: by delaying until the last minute, Angelos has risked that he will have no home for his team next year — in Baltimore or anywhere else. It’s time to get this deal done and on taxpayers’ terms.

— Christopher B. Summers, Rockville

The writer is president and chief executive officer of the Maryland Public Policy Institute.