The Baltimore Ravens decided to give M&T Bank Stadium a little nip-tuck to enhance the fan experience. Yesterday they unveiled the results of the first part of the two-year, $35 million investment.
Part 1 focused upon the lower concourse. Part 2 will be completed in 2014 and provide creature comforts for fans in the upper deck.
The renovations look great! (pics of upgrades HERE)
From the concessions stands to the new brick columns with purple accent lighting and enhanced directional signage to the vastly improved Talon Pub and Bacardi Zone and more, “The Bank” is clearly more stylish.
“We are striving to make the fan experience at Ravens’ home games and other stadium events the best it can be,” Ravens team president Dick Cass stated. “Our priority is keeping M&T Bank Stadium as the best place for fans to be on game day.”
Give the Ravens an “A” for effort but a “C” on execution.
The video boards while gorgeous, are misplaced. Yes they offer crystal clear high-def in all of their 240 square feet of glory. But what’s the point of placing them at the entrances to Gates A and D? Is it simply to make the un-Godly queue into the stadium somewhat tolerable? If so, they may have made it worse!
The boards are positioned overhead at those gates just inside of the turnstiles. So if the team expects to show game highlights other desirable content like NFL scores and fantasy stats, might the fans just hover around the boards and disrupt the massive flow of humanity into the stadium creating even longer lines?
Once in the stadium who is going to watch those boards? The smokers? It’s not as though you can see them from the concession lines or anywhere else for that matter. They are only visible from those entrances.
The Ravens have also installed four new LED boards – measuring 18 feet high and 18 feet wide – with one each placed on the sides of the two giant RavensVision HD video boards in the stadium’s inner bowl.
There, according to Ravens vice president of broadcasting Larry Rosen, stadium operations plan to, “provide the entertainment and football information – including scores and fantasy-team statistics – that our fans crave.”
$35 Million?
I’d trade those two video boards at Gates A & D for TV’s in the bathrooms.
I’d trade those 4 LED boards for free Wi-Fi throughout the stadium. Then fans could check fantasy results and surf the web for highlights from other games whenever they want on their smart phones from the comfort of their own seats.
Oh and a boost in cellular signals wouldn’t be so bad either.
Yes the place sure does look pretty but they could have done better with that $35 large.
These enhancements are like buying beautiful new furniture for your man cave that the Missus won’t allow you to sit on.
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