There are a few things new this year at Oriole Park

They include the new value menu and the Home Run Porch for kids

When it comes to what is new at Oriole Park at Camden Yards this year, quite a lot actually. But today we’ll highlight just a few things with more to come in this space later.

One is a program new this year – the Birdland Value Menu. Available at locations throughout Camden Yards, including the main concourse and upper deck, these will feature 12 items with 11 priced at $5 or less.

“We’re really excited to have the opportunity to roll out the value menu to our fans this year,” said Catie Griggs, the Orioles’ president of business operations. “At the end of the day, we are here for this community and our fans. We realize that price is a real consideration. We want everyone to have the experience that they want here at Camden Yards.”

The menu includes an all beef hot dog for $4 and select 12 oz. domestic beers for $5.

“For us we recognize that tickets, they matter, pricing matters. But so does concessions,” said Griggs. “So, for fans who are looking at exciting local food options, we’ve got those. But for fans that want a dog or a soda, some peanuts and popcorn, we wanted to make sure we have that too. We want to have it at an affordable price. For fans that want to bring their own food, that’s an option too. There really is something for everyone here.”

Also more than a dozen favorite establishments from across Baltimore and Maryland will serve fans at the ballpark this year. That list includes Ekiben, Attman’s Deli, Pat LaFrieda’s, Squire’s Pizza and of course, Boog’s BBQ to name just a few.

Birdland Memberships sold well: In early January, the Orioles hired Don Rovak as chief revenue officer who will be focusing on revenue generation through ticket and corporate sales in both Baltimore and Sarasota, Fla.

Rovak comes to Baltimore after spending 17 years with AMB Sports and Entertainment, a company comprised of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United FC, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Drive GC, and the PGA Tour Superstore.

Rovak said the Orioles’ Birdland Membership program – the club’s season ticket program – is strong heading into this year.

“I want to say we’ve had 98 percent renewals and we will have more overall members than we did last year,” he said. “And we’ve seen folks that committed to us say 13 games last year and now more people are going up then down in the quantity of their games.”

The club recently added a 10-game Birdland Membership plan.

“Some people say I can’t go to 81 games. Well we offer smaller ticket packages. Well I don’t know which games I can go to. Well if you can’t go 48 hours ahead of a game you can trade (your tickets) out of that. And then oh yeah, and you get concession discounts and you get merch discounts. Then it starts to snowball. And then it’s more, how do we educate the market before they just say, ‘I’m just a game-by-game customer.’ By offering value in that flexibility is big,” Rovak said.

The Home Run Porch: The left field wall was moved back in this year at Camden Yards and this has been much discussed. What we just found out this week is that the area between the new wall and old wall is being dubbed the “Home Run Porch.”

There is not seating between the two fences but rather an elevated area where fans can stand. This will be open to kids 12 and under in sections 78, 80 and 82 escorted by an adult to get a closer view of the game and create better access for the kids. Bring your glove and try to catch a homer.

“We think this is a real unique opportunity to welcome kids 12 and under closer to the field escorted by parents,” Griggs said at a media event Tuesday. “They can have the opportunity to really feel part of the game in a way that is pretty unique to this ballpark.

“It’s a chance for those kids to get up close and personal to the game in a way they may not be able to in other locations. We really wanted to prioritize creating access for those kids.”

There is more: Also this year the Orioles are introducing “Orange Out Saturdays” for every Saturday home game. There will be live music at Legends Park before the game and fans are encouraged to don their orange each Saturday. Fans can visit the Orange Store located by section 82.

Also this season the Orioles will have a handful of games wearing all Orange uniforms. The first such date for that is April 12 versus Toronto. I will have more on the all orange uniforms in a later entry.

With the season about to begin I’m very open and hopeful of adding new readers here and new subscribers, free and/or paid. This site is continuing to build and get bigger and better and I hope many are around all year. Please share posts from here where you can and tell your family and friends about this space and thank you!