We finally know who bought out the entire upper deck for Sunday's Orioles game

Autumn Lake Healthcare, a New Jersey-based operator of nursing homes and long-term care facilities, has purchased 12,000 tickets for Sunday’s Orioles game against the Marlins. The purchase reserves the entire upper deck at Camden Yards for the company’s employees.

An Orioles spokesman confirmed the purchase to The Baltimore Banner and that it’s the largest group the team has ever hosted at Camden Yards. Autumn Lake purchased the tickets for its employee family day, “due to the family-friendly environment Orioles baseball provides.”

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The Baltimore Business Journal was first to report the buyer of the ticket block.

Rivka Heisler, the health care company’s regional director of employee experience, told the Business Journal the company is spending upward of $500,000 “out of appreciation” for its employees. As part of the purchase, it is including an all-you-can eat package. In recent years, the company has rented out entire fairgrounds and Six Flags theme parks for its workers.

Autumn Lake is now Maryland’s largest nursing home operator, with 38 nursing homes out of about 230 total in the state. The company has expanded rapidly here over the last three-and-a-half years, acquiring at least 32 of its 38 facilities – which it typically purchases from other failing nursing home chains – since 2019. Ten of these homes were purchased just this year. Last summer, Autumn Lake became the “official skilled nursing facility partner” of the Baltimore Ravens, according to the its Facebook page – an unusual move for a nursing home provider. In October, the Ravens and Autumn Lake announced the team’s former safety and Pro Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson would serve as the spokesperson and face of a joint “Passion and Compassion” campaign during the 2022 season.”

Both Autumn Lake Healthcare and the Ravens are synonymous with Maryland pride, and both stand for excellence, passion and a real sense of caring,” said Mark Schwartz, Autumn Lake chief operating officer, in a statement announcing the partnership. “We could not be more thrilled to join the Ravens family with Rod Woodson representing our brands.”

The company owns 14 additional nursing homes spread across New Jersey, Wisconsin, Connecticut, and West Virginia.

Speculation about where the purchase originated from began to surface after Orioles fans with tickets in the upper levels were asked to move down to more expensive seats in the lower bowl at no cost, which is uncommon.

When contacted earlier this week by The Baltimore Banner about the seat switch for fans, an Orioles spokesman said: “We have a group attending Sunday’s game who had a tremendous response for tickets and required additional upper deck seating.”

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