While the Ravens front office is busy constructing the next edition of the team, the team?s stadium sits empty. But that doesn?t mean M&T Bank Stadium will look exactly the same the next time Ray Lewis runs out of the smoke-engulfed tunnel.
On Wednesday, the Ravens confirmed four significant changes to M&T Bank Stadium for the upcoming NFL season.
The most notable of the changes is a series of digital upgrades to the SmartVision video screens at either end of the stadium. The changes will create a “crisp picture,” according to Ravens senior vice president of business ventures Dennis Mannion, and will remain in place for the next three to five years, before a complete overhaul to the video system.
The team also is making roughly $1 million in upgrades to the club level, creating a “new look that celebrates the history of football in Baltimore.” The new theme will serve as a real-life timeline, starting at the stadium?s south side, showing high school, college, Colts and Ravens history in chronological order around the club level.
The club level also will benefit in the addition of five more suites in the corners of the stadium.
The fourth change will come on the walkway ? known as “Ravens Walk” ? leading into M&T Bank Stadium. Mannion said the club will work with pubs and restaurants around town to create a “tailgate-friendly” marketplace for fans to buy products outside the stadium.
In lieu of rent, the Ravens pay for all capital improvements at the stadium.
The Ravens open the 2007 season Sept. 10 at Cincinnati before hosting the New York Jets in the Sept. 16 home opener at M&T Bank Stadium.
