The Ravens yesterday unveiled the first installment of a two-year, $35M upgrade project at M&T Bank Stadium that includes improvements to videoboards, concession stands and concourses. Two 8-by-30-foot HD LED boards were installed at the concourse entrances of gates A and D, with four more new LED boards in the stadium's lower bowl. The lower concourses have been designed with a "Ravenized" theme inspired by the look of the stadium's exterior (Ravens). In Baltimore, Matt Vensel notes the videoboards at gates A and D will "show live game broadcasts and Ravens highlights on game day." The lower concourse's "aesthetic overhaul" includes accent lights that give it a "purple hue -- or any other color the team chooses, depending on the event." Brick and steel also have been added to the interior, "giving the concourse the feel of the M&T Bank Stadium exterior and Oriole Park at Camden Yards." The concession stands and team retail stores "have a new look, too." There is "no mistake you are entering the Ravens' home." Ravens President Dick Cass: "It looks more purple. By bringing the brick inside the building and the steel trusses inside the building, it has the feel of the exterior of the building, and I think that's important." Vensel notes LED ribbon videoboards will now "stretch the whole way around the inner bowl." The project is "scheduled to be completed next year" (Baltimore SUN, 8/7). Also in Baltimore, Ryan Sharrow noted the renovations were "funded mainly by the Ravens," while Aramark "contributed to the concession upgrades." Cass emphasized that "no public funds from the Maryland Stadium Authority were used for the project" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/6).
