Ravens Stadium
Address- 1101 Russel Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
Team- Baltimore Ravens
Year Opened- 1997
Capacity- 69,084
Surface- Grass
The opening of the Baltimore Ravens' new NFL football stadium at Camden Yards celebrates the completion of a vision that dates to the mid-1980s, a time when the leaders of Baltimore saw an opportunity to revitalize a declining urban neighborhood with the addition of a separate football stadium and ballpark.
Reassembling many of the team members who designed the acclaimed Oriole Park at Camden Yarks, HOK Sport Facilities Group has designed a 69,084-seat stadium for the Baltimore Ravens that complements Oriole Park while capturing the distinctive essence of professional football.
Since 1995 the Ravens have played their games in the historic Memorial Stadium. Construction for Memorial Stadium began in 1949 on the site of the original Baltimore Municipal Stadium but wasn't finished until 1954. The new stadium made its September 6, 1998 debut when the Ravens hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers in a soldout game.
Built adjacent to Oriole Park, the $220 million facility incorporates brick and exposed steel as well as reinforced concrete and glass. Renamed PSINet after the Virginia-based internet Service Provider bought the "presenting sponsor" rights in 1999, the stadium's facade has more than one million hand-laid bricks and 4,000 pieces of buff-colored architectural precast.
Although the prominent archways at the stadium entrances recall Oriole Park, they are heavier and sturdier than Oriole Park's to reflect the power and ruggedness of the sport and athletes.
Baltimore is the first NFL stadium that breaks up the upper concourse into four distinct areas. This is a design feature currently being imitated at other NFL stadiums under construction.
Baltimore Ravens, 2001
