Orioles Sue Baltimore Over Hotel Construction

Just two weeks before opening day, the Baltimore Orioles baseball team has sued the city of Baltimore, claiming that construction work on a $305 million, 752-room Hilton Hotel and convention center blocks the main entrance to the Camden Yards baseball stadium.

The hotel construction site sits along Eutaw Street next to the convention center and right across the street from the main entrance to the ballpark on Pratt Street. To protect pedestrians, the city has closed off the block of Eutaw Street that leads directly to that entrance, forcing fans to take alternative routes.

The Baltimore Development Corp., the city's representative on the hotel development team, declined to comment on the dispute and referred calls to City Solicitor Ralph S. Tyler, who didn't return calls for comment by deadline.

In a Baltimore Sun report, however, Tyler explained that closing Eutaw Street would protect fans that would otherwise have to walk beside a dangerous construction zone. He promised to present alternate pedestrian routes during the court hearing on the suit, scheduled for Friday.

The Orioles will ask the court to open the main entrance for two hours before and after games.