M&T Bank Stadium
Baltimore Ravens Football Stadium
About Stadium
Located in downtown Baltimore directly next to Oriole Park at Camden Yards is the home of the Baltimore Ravens, M&T Bank Stadium. Commonly referred to as simply “Ravens Stadium,” it opened in 1998.
When it opened, it was named Ravens Stadium at Camden Yards, but the naming rights were purchase in 1999 by internet service provider PSINet, which named the stadium PSINet Stadium. When the company filed for bankruptcy in 2002, the name of the stadium was temporarily changed back to Ravens Stadium, before M&T Bank bought the naming rights in 2003 and named the stadium M&T Bank Stadium.
It’s played host to a number of notable college football games including two Army-Navy match-ups, a Maryland vs Navy game which is now referred to as the “Crab Bowl Classic” in 2010, and the Big Ten match-up between Maryland and Penn State on October 24, 2015.
In addition to football, the English Premier League’s Chelsea F.C. played a match as apart of the World Football Challenge on July 24, 2009. Three years later in 2012 it again played host to a Premier League match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in front of 42,723 attendance.
The venue regularly serves as an alternative field for Johns Hopkins University’s men’s lacrosse team, and was also the home of the NCAA Men’s Lacross Championship in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, and 2014. In addition, Baltimore’s Major League Lacrosse team, the Baltimore Bayhawks also used the stadium as their home during the 2002 season.
•Capacity: 71,008
•Opened: September 6, 1998
•Playing Surface: Latitude 36 Bermuda Grass
•Location: 1101 Russell Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
History
• The field opened with a playing surface of Bermuda Grass, but has changed a number of times over the ears to Shaw Sports Turf Momentum in 2003 to 2009, then to Show Sports Turf Momentum 51 in 2010 to 2015, and recently the team decided to go back to a natural Latitude 36 Bermuda Grass playing surface before the start of the 2016 season.
• The Ravens arrived in Baltimore from Cleveland in 1996, where they were formerly known as the Browns. Ground was broken for their new home in mid-1996 only months after their arrival. For the team’s first two seasons, they played at Memorial Stadium, which was the hold home of the Baltimore Orioles before Camden Yards had been built, as well as the old Baltimore Colts before they moved to Indianapolis.
• The stadium’s current name, M&T Bank Stadium dates back to 2003 when their bid beat out other notable names such as Nextel and CarMax. When Baltimore Colts legendary quarterback Johnny Unitas passed away in September of 2002, many locals pushed for the stadium to be named after him, but the city and Maryland Stadium Authority held firm with their ambitions to sell the naming rights of the venue. Instead they added a section outside the stadium named “Unitas Plaza” for the late, local legend.
• The record attendance for the stadium, 71,438, was originally set on December 7, 2008 when the Ravens defeated their beltway rivals, the Washington Redskins by a score of 24-10 on Sunday Night Football, but was then topped the very following week in their home loss at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers in front of 71,502.
• It’s been the site of the annual Army-Navy game for a number of years including 2007 and 2014, and it’ll again be the location when the two teams play in 2016.
Past and Current Teams
Baltimore Ravens (NFL) (1998–present)
Baltimore Bayhawks (MLL) (2002)
