Rare Ravens-Orioles doubleheader sets up Sunday grid-flock downtown

A Baltimore sports equinox is coming.

For the first time ever, the Ravens and Orioles will host regular season games on the same day in downtown Baltimore. Depending upon your perspective, it’s either traffic Armageddon, or a chance to witness a Baltimore birds doubleheader.

The Ravens kick off against the New Orleans Saints at 1 p.m., a game that will likely last a little over three hours, and the Orioles face the Milwaukee Brewers at 7:20 p.m.

This never happens

Overlapping events using the same parking lots can make for logistical and security nightmares, so the clubs have long avoided conflicts. Their leases with the state — which owns both stadiums — stipulate as much.

The last time the Ravens and Orioles played non-preseason games on the same day in Baltimore was October 1997, when the Ravens hosted a regular season game at Memorial Stadium in Waverly and the Orioles won an American League Division Series against the Seattle Mariners at Camden Yards, a few miles away.

Neighboring M&T Bank Stadium opened the following year, and it has mostly dodged calendar collisions with Camden Yards, with a few exceptions:

• In 1999, the Ravens held a preseason game at noon on the Friday of Labor Day weekend while the Orioles played that night. Then-Orioles official Roger Hayden, a former Baltimore County executive, said at the time it would be the first “and the last” time the teams played on the same day. He was almost right.
• The Orioles hosted home games on the same days as a Ravens practice in 2023 and a preseason game in 2024.
• Perhaps the biggest crossover came in October 2023. The Orioles were scheduled to begin a playoff game at 1 p.m., but it was delayed over an hour by rain. That night, Stevie Nicks and Billy Joel performed at M&T Bank Stadium. Nearly 100,000 people attended the two events.

How to avoid traffic

Once again, Sunday’s all-day crowd is expected to approach 100,000, a figure that doesn’t include staffers or those merely tailgating. That’s a lot of people and cars streaming into the 85 acres that hold Oriole Park and M&T Bank Stadium.

City officials generally recommend allotting extra time for travel — but more practical advice is to avoid driving near the stadiums on Sunday if you can.

There are 250 spots to park bicycles, mostly outside Oriole Park, and the Maryland Stadium Authority encourages attendees to take public transit.

For those coming from Anne Arundel County or northern Baltimore County, the light rail stops at both stadiums. But fans should expect a crowd — it tends to be packed when the Orioles or Ravens (let alone both) are in town, especially postgame. The Maryland Transit Administration runs as many trains as it can on game days, but the rail line’s aged power system limits how many railcars can run simultaneously on the tracks.

To mitigate traffic — or grid-flock, as we’re calling it — the Ravens have asked fans to exit parking lots promptly after the game. No postgame tailgating is allowed.

“Please allow extra time and be patient, as Orioles fans may be arriving in the area at the same time,” the Ravens’ website states.

Ravens staffers will be parking off-site on Sunday, and about 10% of fans with parking passes have been relocated. Some fans with passes in Lot H, east of the stadium, will instead park at the Horseshoe Casino’s garage.

Acknowledging that “changing your game day routine is an inconvenience,” the Ravens offered affected fans a $55 parking credit and a $100 gift card for concessions, according to an email the club sent.

Sprinkled among the purple-and-orange party on Sunday will be Pokémon enthusiasts. About 7,000 people are expected at the Baltimore Convention Center as part of regional championships of the trading card game.

A busy September

The teams’ leases with the state specifically outline the protocol for September, the only month when both teams have scheduled contests. The Orioles get first pick of September weekends, and the Ravens are obligated to “work cooperatively and in good faith with the Orioles to avoid scheduling a regular season football game” on the same day as a baseball game.

It’s up to MLB and the NFL to determine schedules, but teams can make requests.

Still, this doubleheader is happening.

“Hosting two games in one day across the Complex takes coordination and does not come without challenges, but the Orioles, MSA, the Mayor’s office, state agencies and the Ravens worked collaboratively and diligently on parking, traffic and overall logistics to ensure fans, employees, neighborhoods and local businesses have the best experience possible,” Ravens spokesperson Chad Steele said in a statement.

Things were different in 2013. The Ravens began that year on the road — breaking from the tradition of defending Super Bowl champions hosting the season opener — due to a scheduling conflict with the Orioles.

Other cities have similar issues. Over the last few years, the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays have rescheduled games to avoid NFL conflicts. And in October 2023, the Phillies hosted a playoff game at the same time and in the same complex as the Philadelphia Flyers’ home opener and a soccer exhibition.

More Baltimore doubleheaders might be in our future.

State officials have pushed for increased use of the stadiums, which have recently been improved with state dollars, to generate activity. There are 81 regular season Orioles games and about 10 regular season and preseason Ravens contests, plus playoffs. The state likes to see special events, too.

This year is M&T Bank Stadium’s busiest ever. September will see 13 Orioles games, a Ravens game, plus rugby and soccer matches.

“We are excited to showcase the energy both fan bases bring to our great city,” Steele said. “We love seeing fans making a full day out of both games and having purple and orange side by side across the complex will be a special sight to see.”

Banner reporter Daniel Zawodny contributed to this story.