The final figures are not complete, but "it appears the
Ravens' stadium will end up costing" $223M, putting the cost
of Baltimore's two-stadium complex at more than $500M,
according to Jon Morgan of the Baltimore SUN. The football
price tag is "slightly above projections from even last
year," but it does include some items paid for by the team
and other organizations. It does not include the "nearly"
$6M light rail station or the costs of the land underneath
the building. With those costs included, including half the
Camden Yards land, the football project will cost about
$279M, with interest on the bonds used to finance the
project to total about $100M over the next 30 years. MD
Stadium Authority Exec Dir Bruce Hoffman said construction
costs will "probably stay at" $223M. Morgan reports that
when the deal was signed to bring the Browns to Baltimore in
'95, the state agreed to spend $200M on a stadium. Now, if
the football estimate holds up, the total Camden Yards
project will end cost a total of $502.5M, "more than twice
the estimates" made when lawmakers passed the funding
measure in '86, "although the football stadium was built
years later than anticipated after inflation had driven up
all costs." Construction of Oriole Park cost $106.5M, with
the team contributing $9M to the ballpark (SUN, 8/12).
GREEN THUMB: The Ravens have installed the SportGrass
Athletic Surfacing in their new stadium, which was grown at
the Greg Norman Turf Farms in Avon Park, FL (SportGrass).
