Baseball didn’t blink, and the Ravens are apparently going to have to open the season on the road.
According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, efforts to find a resolution that would allow the Ravens to open the season at home on a Thursday night (when the Orioles had a game scheduled) have proven unsuccessful.
As such, the Orioles will play the White Sox on Sept. 5 at 7 p.m., and the Ravens will open the season on the road, instead of the recently traditional Thursday game.
While it remains to be seen what happens if it rains that night, the league’s efforts to stage their season-opening party are being shelved for this season.
UPDATE 3:27 p.m. ET: The Ravens have acknowledged that they’ll open on the road, saying the logistical problems of two games on the same day (with facilities that share parking lots) was too much to overcome:
“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 team president Dick Cass said, via the team’s official website.
“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.”