O’s New President of Business Operations Catie Griggs Talks Camden Yards Renovations, Attendance and More

Hired July 8 as the Orioles’ first female president of business operations, Catie Griggs is now on a mission of exploration. In her first press conference with the O’s media yesterday, she said she has spent time since her first official day on Aug. 19 getting to know the city, her new team and her new teammates.

He will soon be spearheading improvements to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, some of which will be implemented next year, but the more significant ones will likely be implemented in the 2026 season.

“I’m learning right now,” Griggs said. “That’s the No. 1 priority. I know what I don’t know. I have a lot of experience running a baseball team from the business side. But I’ve never run a team from the business side here in Baltimore.”

The first major hire for new owner David M. Rubenstein and his new ownership group, Griggs had served as president of business operations for the Seattle Mariners since July 2021 before resigning to take the position with the Orioles. That came after four seasons as chief business officer for Atlanta United of Major League Soccer, where she oversaw all aspects of the Mariners organization outside of baseball operations.

To better understand the fan experience at Oriole Park, she took part. She’s already sat in 15 different areas of the stadium.

“We serve our fans, and I want to understand what they’re going through,” she said. “I sat in the Splash Zone for the sixth inning last night and got really wet. It was a lot of fun. It was a pleasure to walk around the stadium, understand how the space works, understand how it fits our occasion, and then spend a lot of time getting to know our staff.”

Any renovations at Camden Yards may initially be on a smaller scale.

“It’s really important to us that we respect the integrity and the history of the stadium and everything that makes it special and unique and amazing. And finding ways that we can really enhance that and deliver more value to our fans in a way that respects the past but also embraces the future,” she said.

Along with Seattle, she led the way as T-Mobile Park became the first venue to host Major League Baseball’s All-Star Week (2023) and the National Hockey League Winter Classic (2024) in a calendar year. Combined, the two events generated over $80 million in revenue for the city of Seattle and directly engaged over 300,000 fans.

Baltimore hasn’t hosted the All-Star Game since 1993.

“I would love to have the opportunity to host an All-Star game here. It’s a really amazing opportunity to bring the community together and really showcase the city,” Griggs said.

The move to the Orioles puts Griggs a little closer to home, which was one of several reasons she joined the Orioles. A North Carolina native, Griggs earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a master’s in business administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Griggs on other topics:

What is your biggest challenge with O?: “I think the challenge, and really the opportunity, is to engage the entire community more effectively. We have an amazing stadium with a lot of seats. I want them to be packed every day. To do that, we have to create an environment where everyone feels welcome, appreciated, seen and wants to be here and be a part of it.”

“The team has done it before, and I have great faith that we can do it again. But this is the opportunity we have.”

Attendance has increased this year. How would you rate it?: “I think we’re on the right track. We’re building on the success we’ve had, and we have a chance to get better.”

How does he see his role in the context of working with Mike Elias, who is responsible for baseball operations?: “I think they are incredibly symbiotic. My goal is to help him and the baseball operations team create the most compelling, exciting, dynamic and winning team on the field that they can.

“Part of that is creating an experience that the fans want to be in. The fans bring energy to the stadium. The Grand Slam last night – you can feel that. So how can I work with them to complement them and continue to put the best team on the pitch that I can.”

How has the business of baseball in the major leagues been doing over the past few years and how does that affect Baltimore? “Fans love baseball, period. All sports have had a hard time because of Covid. But you see sports recovering, and youth baseball and softball participation is growing nationally. And then the changes from a rules standpoint, that shortened games seem to have a bigger impact on TV viewership, even at a time when there are distribution challenges and fewer people have access to those games through traditional cable subscriptions.”

“So I believe the health of the game is strong. The product is strong. The opportunity for us is to make sure that we create a space to retain, maintain and respect all the fans who make the game great, while also making sure that we create a space for new fans to fall in love with it.”