Double Booked Problem Solved: Ravens Will Open Season On The Road
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Double booked problem solved. Both the Ravens and Orioles were scheduled to play a home game Sept. 5, but there was just not enough room to accommodate all those fans.
The Ravens have opted to open the 2013 season on the road instead.
Typically, the Super Bowl champs are honored with the home opening, which this year falls on Thursday, Sept. 5. Unfortunately, the Orioles were also scheduled to host the White Sox at Camden Yards that same night.
So something--or some team--had to give.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell proposed a baseball/football doubleheader. But in the end, both teams agreed that idea was not logistically feasible.
"After thorough discussions among the Orioles, the NFL and the Ravens, it became clear that holding both an Orioles' game and the Ravens' regular season opener on the same day would create logistical situations that would cause serious issues for the city of Baltimore, and fans for both teams," Ravens President Dick Cass said in a statement. "The Ravens greatly appreciate the willingness of the Orioles to adjust the start of their game in an effort to make this sports spectacular happen. But, in the end, anticipated problems with parking, rush-hour traffic, plus crowd and car congestion around Oriole Park and M&T Bank Stadium, will keep the doubleheader from taking place."
The Orioles released the following statement on Friday:
"The Orioles have great respect for the Super Bowl Champion Ravens and thank Major League Baseball, the MLB Players Association, and the White Sox for doing everything possible to work with us to explore all options to reschedule the September 5 game. We also appreciate the work of the NFL and the Ravens over the past several weeks as we attempted to accommodate the Ravens' interest in a game the same evening. Given the limited options available to reschedule the game at that late date in the season, the parties jointly determined that even an earlier start time would still create such enormous logistical difficulties that it would greatly diminish the fan experience for both events which all parties realized would not be in the interest of their fans or the city."
NFL senior vice president of communications Greg Aiello also released a statement, expressing disappointment for Baltimore fans.
"While we are disappointed for the fans in Baltimore, we appreciate the efforts of the Ravens, Orioles and Major League Baseball and understand the logistical problems in trying to schedule the teams on the same day," Aiello said. "The Ravens will open the season on the road on Thursday night, September 5, in our annual NFL Kickoff Game on NBC. We are exploring potential fan activities in Baltimore around the Kickoff Game, including a pre-game concert."
The Oriole game will go on as scheduled on Sept. 5.
