The Ravens, hoping to "generate interest in the team's
pricey future," has sent out seven-minute videotapes to
about 18,000 season-ticket holders, according to Jon Morgan
of the Baltimore SUN. Today is the deadline for current
ticket holders to keep their places in line for seats and
seat licenses at the new stadium scheduled to open in '98.
Team officials will "begin courting new buyers" in about two
weeks. As of Friday, the team had sold "about a third of the
new stadium's 62,400 season-tickets (Baltimore SUN, 12/18).
RELIEVED TO SEE THIS? The videos sent out feature game
highlights and architectural renderings of the new stadium.
But "more conspicuous are the extended shots of the lines
outside a bathroom at Memorial Stadium. Dozens of grim-faced
men, shifting back and forth uncomfortably on their feet are
seen waiting. And waiting." The scene "suddenly switches"
to "a wide-open bathroom" at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte,
designed by HOK, the same group handling Baltimore's new
facility. A narrator notes fans "will spend more time
watching the game and less time waiting in line." Ravens
Exec VP David Modell: "In all our focus groups, the very
first issue, no matter what category we were talking about,
was bathrooms" (Baltimore SUN, 12/18).
