Janet Marie Smith: Former Orioles President Larry Lucchino Had Vision, Tenacity
Former Orioles President Larry Lucchino was a major player in the baseball industry and was instrumental in building Camden Yards and redefining the ballparks at all levels of baseball. position.
Lucchino died on April 2 at the age of 78. The Orioles hired architect and urban planner Janet Marie Smith in 1989 to implement Lucchino’s vision for a new ballpark that retained the style of the old ballparks.
During his career, Smith has worked with Lucchino on numerous projects around the country, most recently building a new stadium for the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox. Smith always remembers Lucchino as a visionary and a passionate person.
“After working with him for 30 years, I fondly remember my first meeting with him, never again. His actions changed. He was always a tough guy. It’s always a challenge,” Smith said on Glenn Clark’s April 5 radio show. “He’s one of those rare people who knows where he wants to go and has the patience and ability to have a vision and write a way to make it happen. I don’t use the words vision either. He had a vision.
If Luchino had a vision, it was Smith’s job to turn that vision into reality. It is not easy. Lucchino wanted this new ballpark to capturethe same excitement as the first Forbes Field in Lucchino’s hometown of Pittsburgh, but also to make sure the ballpark would draw the same crowds as famous but smaller parks like Fenway Park of Boston and Chicago’s Wrigley Field. to visit I like the floors and the walls.
These are two things that Smith emphasized when he set out to make Lucchino’s dream come true.
“Most of my work is maps, starting with plans and ending with graphics. How do we get that?” Smith explained. “How do we get that and translate it so that we have a solid foundation to work with the Maryland Stadium Authority and HOK Sport, known as Populous?”
While Smith liked Lucchino’s beliefs, he also appreciated . Willing to listen to other opinions. Although Lucchino is open to hearing new ideas, he does not doubt what he considers important. According to Smith, this is Lucchino’s way of evaluating the validity of certain ideas and testing his own ideas. Although he looks angry.
“I didn’t want to be around Yes people,” Smith said. “I didn’t want to be around people scratching their heads. He likes mental challenges.
Smith believes this challenge proved his bond with Lucchino. Lucchino was a champion, but Smith came from another world, that of urban planning. Smith believes Lucchino likes the outside perspective. He kept asking him why he wanted that he could communicate his vision to strangers.
“He thought, “Hey, the sports experts are already in the room. How do we show them that this is more than just baseball? “This is more than just a sports venue,” Smith said. “Every time I’m good, I’m honored when I’m asked to do something. But I knew he expected me to challenge the norm and let me do it. That’s our relationship.
As Smith reflects on Lucchino’s life and legacy, he believes there is room for Lucchino’s legacy to grow. Considering his work with Lucchino at Petco Park in San Diego, Smith believes that if the Orioles’ new ownership group wants to expand on Lucchino’s legacy, they can work with Lucchino. the city of Baltimore to help buildthe area around Camden Yards.
Lucchino thinks: It took a long time, but it didn’t work.
“The work he did with the Padres in San Diego is famous for his work for the city of San Diego, and that’s another project that Larry and I are working on,” Smith said. “What’s amazing is that the city of San Diego didn’t give the Padres the right to develop on that property, but the responsibility and the obligation to work. If you go to Petco Park today, the energy around you is amazing, but that’s what makes a baseball club. I think it’s very impressive, if you didn’t know it you wouldn’t know it. It feels like a natural extension of the city, and I hope it’s the same for Baltimore.”
How long Lucchino’s legacy will last remains to be seen, but in Smith’s opinion, one thing is certain. Luchino is a passionate businessman, visionary, but also very intelligent. Everything he did was logical.
His passion and convictions caused some problems, but no matter where he was – in Baltimore, Boston or San Diego – Lucchino was always a logical person and worked to achieve his dreams in the best possible way.
“Larry has a very sharp business mind . “This is not an arbitrary decision.“ Smith said. “It is true that he always pursues what is possible, not what is impossible.“.
