Home of the Game - The Story of Camden Yards (Hardcover)

The celebrated home ballpark of the Baltimore Orioles, Camden Yards has become baseball's center stage, the main theater where many of the game's successes and woes have played out in recent years. Home of the Game celebrates the unique position Camden Yards holds as a symbol of the modern game and a prototype for new ballparks across the country. In his direct, engaging account, Thom Loverro examines the history of the park, its influence on the move to bring baseball back from the suburbs to the cities, and its far-reaching social and business impact on professional sports.

Combining old-fashioned architecture with modern convenience, Camden Yards represents the new trend in sports facilities that has touched not just baseball but all of professional sports: the ballpark as revenue producer. Despite Baltimore's relatively small population, the Orioles now sell out every game, which has allowed them to spend liberally on the acquisition of top-tier free agents. Such recruitment has resulted in a consistently competitive team that represents both the best, such as the retention of hometown hero Cal Ripken, and worst, such as the succession of talented managers driven off by owner Peter Angelos, in contemporary baseball.

Home of the Game reveals how this revolutionary ballpark has changed the face of baseball as a sport and a business.