SARASOTA, Fla. -- Orioles chairman/CEO John Angelos and his wife, Margaret Valentine, came to the Ed Smith Stadium complex on Sunday morning to take in the team¡¯s Spring Training workouts and to chat with general manager Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde, among others.

Angelos also held a 37-minute session with the media in which he covered a wide array of topics. Here are five takeaways:

1. A new Camden Yards lease agreement could come by July
Earlier this month, the Orioles issued a joint statement with Maryland Governor Wes Moore announcing a commitment to create a ¡°long-term, multi-decade, public-private partnership¡± with the Maryland Stadium Authority for Camden Yards. The current lease for the ballpark is set to expire at the end of 2023.

Angelos is anticipating a new lease will be agreed upon earlier than that.

¡°I would be very disappointed if I¡¯m not able to work with the governor and his team ... to make that happen in the next -- six months? Sooner?¡± Angelos said. ¡°I mean, I¡¯d love to have that as an All-Star break gift for everybody, really, in the community. There¡¯s just no there there other than we¡¯re going to get that done. And that¡¯s always been one of the things I committed to. I have no intention of not seeing that happen -- and I know the governor and his folks are just as keen on it as we are.¡±

The team reportedly rejected a one-time, five-year lease extension at the beginning of this month as it continued to try to work out a longer-term agreement. The timing of Moore succeeding Larry Hogan as governor of Maryland last month was also a factor in a new agreement not happening sooner, per Angelos.

¡°We should do that transparently, we should do that communicatively,¡± Angelos said. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would be right to rush something through in the final days of the Hogan administration.¡±

2. Upgrades are in the future plans for Camden Yards
The General Assembly passed legislation last year that will allow a new Camden Yards lease agreement to unlock $600 million to fund upgrades to the ballpark. What does Angelos have in mind for those assets?

Angelos listed behind-the-scenes components (such as boilers and air conditioning), amenities and seating as areas that could be improved. He also expressed a desire to upgrade the audio/video systems and scoreboards, as the ones now at Camden Yards were installed in 2008 and are only the second set in the ballpark¡¯s 31-year history.

¡°They¡¯re capital replenishments to bring things back up to standard,¡± Angelos said.

3. Elias and Hyde aren¡¯t going anywhere anytime soon
Elias has declined to discuss his contract status, as well as Hyde¡¯s, numerous times. Angelos took the same stance, but he made it clear the Orioles won¡¯t be needing a new GM or manager in the near future.

¡°I will tell you guys this -- I¡¯m here for the long haul; Mike is here for the long haul; Brandon is here for the long haul,¡± Angelos said. ¡°We are all fully vested. We¡¯re not going anywhere. And nobody is a short-timer. Nobody is expiring in a year or two years or anything like that.¡±

Angelos praised the jobs done by Elias and Hyde (both hired following the 2018 season) in turning around the team and successfully rebuilding the franchise.

4. The team¡¯s payroll could continue to grow in future years
While discussing the organization¡¯s standing, Angelos pointed to Tampa Bay, Cleveland and Milwaukee as small-to-mid-market teams that have had sustained success despite not ranking among the largest payrolls in baseball. He believes there¡¯s a path for the Orioles to do the same.

Angelos said there¡¯s a financial range that Elias and the baseball operations staff operate within. But the chairman/CEO also added the O¡¯s ¡°absolutely have the resources¡± to raise the payroll and that they ¡°plan to keep moving the payroll up.¡±

¡°Could payroll be double or triple what it is -- or could it be over $100 million? Yeah. But we¡¯re not there yet,¡± Angelos said. ¡°We have a very young team that¡¯s overachieved and overperformed because of the great work of our baseball folks.¡±

5. No new ownership partners are in the short-term plans
Angelos said there are ¡°absolutely no plans to change the partnership group or to change the managing partnership structure¡± of the Orioles. While that¡¯s the case, he also indicated there¡¯s an openness to consider having conversations with potential future partners; there just aren¡¯t any that have emerged yet.

¡°That¡¯s not necessary or required or a requisite, but we¡¯re open to it,¡± Angelos said. ¡°But there is no plan to change or to transition out of what we have today.¡±

There¡¯s also no longer a legal battle within the Angelos family, as John, his brother Louis and his mother Georgia dismissed the lawsuit between them earlier this month.

¡°I think those things are distractions and it¡¯s unfortunate whenever they arise,¡± Angelos said. ¡°But all good things going forward now -- and I¡¯m really confident in what Mike and Brandon are doing and what the management team¡¯s doing. And I think those things are, as they should be, in the rear-view mirror and receding.¡±