Orioles Home Opener 2022: Stadium Renovation, Parking, Weather Details

BALTIMORE, MD — The Orioles return to Baltimore Monday for their home opener. The O’s started their season in Tampa Bay over the weekend, dropping their first three games to the Rays.

The Orioles are now back in town, ready to host the Milwaukee Brewers. Bruce Zimmermann, an Ellicott City native, will take the mound at 3:05 p.m.

Zimmermann graduated from Loyola Blakefield High School in Towson. He will be the first Marylander to be the starting pitcher of an Orioles home opener since Tom Phoebus in 1968.

Baltimore is in another rebuilding year, but fans still have ballpark renovations and new food options to look forward to. Here’s everything to know about the stadium updates, the transportation options and the weather forecast.

What’s Happening In Left Field?

This offseason, Oriole Park at Camden Yards underwent one of its biggest renovations ever. The team pushed its left-field fence back 26.5 feet and raised the wall from 7 feet, 4 inches to 13 feet exactly. The Maryland Stadium Authority had to remove about 1,000 seats to make this possible.

Before this project, the ballpark was known as a hitter’s oasis. Baltimore hopes the deeper fence will make it harder to hit home runs to left field. The untouched right-field wall is relatively close to home plate, meaning that area will still favor hitters.

To learn more about the construction, read this story on MLB.com. Photos of the new outfield are posted here.

How Will The Ballpark Celebrate Its 30th Anniversary?

Camden Yards opened in 1992. The ballpark’s retro-urban design earned it the nickname “The ballpark that forever changed baseball.”

The Orioles will celebrate their field’s 30th birthday with a historical exhibit and ticket deals.

Among other displays, the exhibit will feature:

• Items from Cal Ripken Jr.’s record-breaking 2,131st consecutive game, his 3,000th career appearance and his final game
• The last ball and a champagne bottle from when the Orioles clinched the American League East divisional title in 2014
• The ball from the 10,000th home run in franchise history

The club will additionally offer discounted tickets throughout the year.

Fans can grab $10 seats in the Eutaw Street Bleachers for home games every Monday through Thursday. That promotion runs all season long.

Baltimore will also sell some seats at their 1992 price for a limited time. Tickets will be $4 for bleachers and $8 for reserve seats. Box seats will be $12, $13 and $18. These were the prices from when Oriole Park first opened, and they will save fans 50 to 85 percent.

Camden Franks will also sell hotdogs at their 1992 price of $1.75. Each transaction will have a limit of two hot dogs per person.

These deals will only be available for games played from Tuesday, April 12 through Sunday, April 17. Fans must buy their tickets online before the end of Wednesday, April 13 and enter the coupon code “1992” before choosing their seats.

Is There New Food?

Camden Yards will welcome several new food vendors and menu items this year.

One of Baltimore’s favorite restaurants will join the lineup. Jimmy’s Famous Seafood is opening a stand on the lower concourse near Section 72. Notable options include crab cake egg rolls for $20 and Mo Gaba’s shrimp platter for $16.

The shrimp dish will honor late Orioles superfan Mo Gaba, a 14-year-old who died after multiple bouts with cancer. In honor of Mo, $1 from each platter sold will benefit the John Hopkins Children’s Center.

RELATED: Late Ravens, Orioles Superfan Mo Gaba Remembered On His Birthday

The Hot Corner, a spicy food stand, will set up shop on the lower level behind sections 49 through 52. This business will sell chicken tenders and fries served with one of three of sauces.

Customers can get Buffalo Tenders tossed in Frank’s RedHot aioli and topped with crumbled blue cheese. All American Tenders will be coated with cheese sauce and Applewood bacon. Capital City Mambo Tenders will pack a sweet and tangy flavor that’s garnishd with garlic aioli. Each meal will cost $15 and come with scallions.

Fans can also snag $16 crab pretzels and $14 pepperoni pizza pretzels at the B&O Market on Eutaw Street.

A unique burger will be available for $16 at the Eutaw Street Burger Portable. Known as The Baltimore Smash, this two-patty sandwich blends short ribs and ground chuck. The handheld is finished off with shaved onions, American cheese and special sauce.

Can I Bring Outside Food And Drink?

Fans can once again bring outside food and drink into the ballpark. The Orioles paused this permission in 2021, saying it was to avoid the spread of COVID-19 at bag checkpoints.

This year, all items must fit into a clear plastic bag that is 1 gallon or smaller. Each fan is only allowed to bring one bag.

Food should come in individual portions, not bulk quantities.

Nonalcoholic drinks are permitted a
s long as they are 20 oz. less, come in a plastic bottle and are still factory-sealed. Frozen water bottles are not allowed into Oriole Park.

A full lost of all the changes is available on this website.

Where Can I Park?

Anybody driving to the game can search parking options in advance on SpotHero.

What Are The Public Transit Options?

Fans can ride to Camden Yards on a bus from the Maryland Transit Administration, also known as the MTA.

Another option is the Maryland Area Rail Commuter, more commonly known as the MARC train. Camden Station is located right outside the ballpark.

Local train riders can hop on the Metro SubwayLink. The closest stops are Charles Center and Lexington Market. Both are about a 10-minute walk from Camden Yards.

The Light RailLink is another possibililty. This lower-speed rail also stops at Camden Station.

To see schedules for these modes of transportation, click here.

What’s The Weather Forecast?

The National Weather Service is calling for mostly sunny skies for the home opener. Monday has a high of 63 degrees and a low of 53.

The morning may see southward wind between 6 and 11 mph. Gusts could reach 21 mph. The winds should shift to the southeast in the evening, falling to 5 to 7 mph.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The author of this story, Jacob Baumgart, worked as an usher for the Baltimore Orioles from 2016 to 2019.

Have a story idea? Please contact me at jacob.baumgart@patch.com with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County news.