Renovation of a stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. Completed plans call for the renovation of a stadium.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/renovation-of-ravens-stadium-will-cost-more-than-anticipated Renovation of Ravens’ stadium will cost more than anticipated As explained during Thursday’s #PFTPM, more than a few teams are currently angling for a new stadium. The Ravens, who still play in the building that lured them from Cleveland 27 years ago, are in the process of finalizing renovations at M&T Bank Stadium. According to The Baltimore Banner, via Sports Business Journal, upcoming upgrades to the venue will cost more than expected. Previously, $434 million in Maryland funding had been reserved for the renovation. With the price now expected to be $489 million, the Ravens have agreed to pay the $55 million excess — with the state reimbursing up to $35 million. The stadium authority board approved the plan this week. The Maryland Board of Public Works must also sign off on it. And while nearly half a billion dollars technically qualifies, in forensic accounting terminology, as a shitload of money, it’s nothing close to what it would cost to build a new one. The Ravens and Baltimore deserve credit for building a building in 1998 that still works at a time when teams with stadiums paid for in large part by taxpayers after 1996 are already shaking the public-money tree for more big green apples. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2025/01/21/ravens-commanders-battle-marketing-rights-suburbs.html A football fan in Laurel looking to catch an NFL game in-person has two easy options: travel 20 miles to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore for a Ravens game or go 16 miles to check out the Commanders at Northwest Stadium in Landover. Around town, both teams’ jerseys, flags and bumper stickers are common sights, especially with both clubs in the second round of the playoffs. But as far as the NFL business is concerned, the town is exclusive Commanders territory. The Ravens can’t sell sponsorship deals there, can’t do community-building activations like a youth flag football league there, and a Ravens logo in any customer-facing business relationship could trigger league discipline. That’s because Laurel is part of the Commanders’ “home marketing area,” their zone of exclusive rights to promote and monetize NFL football. Laurel sits in the extreme northern corner of Prince George’s County, which along with neighboring Montgomery County, comprise the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. For decades, the Commanders have had exclusivity in both counties. The Commanders have a strong claim to those regions — their home stadium is based in Prince George’s County, and they were the only NFL team in the region from 1984 to 1996. But the Ravens do, too — no other team is blocked from commercial activities less than 25 miles from its own locker room, and you’ll see plenty of purple in those counties at any large public gathering. In a dispute that’s reached the highest levels of the NFL, the Ravens are pushing to change the boundaries, arguing they unreasonably limit the club’s growth prospects at a time of maximum popularity and on-field success. Owner Steve Bisciotti has been personally involved in seeking a change. The Commanders and owner Josh Harris have pushed back on any proposed changes so far, sources said. Harris has argued he bought the team just two years ago at a price ($6.05 billion) that, on some level, reflected the lack of local competition in Washington’s Maryland suburbs, and that it’s unfair to change it now. Both teams declined to comment; the NFL did not reply to a message seeking comment. If anything changes, it would need to happen in the next year or so. The NFL resolution that defines home marketing areas, last renewed in 2011, expires at the end of the 2025 season, and another renewal would likely be long-term. The Ravens hope to convince the league and other owners to support some change from the status quo before then, sources said. Initially, sources said, Commissioner Roger Goodell’s staff proposed a true shared market, like how the two New York and Los Angeles teams operate. In this vision, both Washington and Baltimore could sell across the region but no other teams could. Harris rejected this out of hand, sources said. Now, Bisciotti and the Ravens are hoping to steer the debate toward winning rights at least in the two all-important Maryland counties. The Ravens see themselves as Maryland’s team, but Prince George’s and Montgomery each have roughly one million residents and comprise one-third of the state’s population of 6.2 million, and an even greater share of its wealth. Ironically, this dispute may matter more in principle and politics than profits. Sources said even a favorable change in the boundaries would only marginally affect Baltimore’s local sponsorships sales, a secondary bucket of revenue compared to national media/sponsorships and ticket sales. But it rises to an owners-and-commissioners level because it forces the league to choose between two long-held goals: 1) Protecting small market teams like Baltimore and 2) Ensuring that wealthy mega-markets like Washington are fully monetized. It’s also a delicate dance in owner politics, arguably the riskiest part of Goodell’s job. These rules have existed since the Ravens were founded in 1996, but the controversy has emerged anew this decade. For much of the past two decades, former Washington owner Daniel Snyder was so unpopular — and the team so futile, with just two postseason victories this century entering the 2024 playoffs — that the team’s commercial prospects were limited. Meanwhile, the Ravens’ consistency (15 division titles and two Super Bowl championships) generated substantial organic fan growth across the Washington region. But now, Harris has given the Washington area a reason to reunite with the team. The Commanders won their first playoff game in 19 years on Jan. 12, and their flashy star quarterback, Jayden Daniels, is four years younger than his Baltimore counterpart, MVP candidate Lamar Jackson. Perhaps most importantly, the Commanders and Harris’ related organizations have built a sophisticated, aggressive sales operation that intends to vigorously pursue opportunities. “It’s a weird situation,” one source said. “People aren’t used to having both the Commanders and the Ravens good.” The closest parallel elsewhere in the NFL was in the San Francisco Bay Area, before the 49ers moved to Santa Clara in 2014 and the Raiders decamped from Oakland for Las Vegas in 2020. Then, the 49ers and Raiders had heavily overlapping HMAs where they could both sell, but they operated under a gentlemen’s agreement that they would not activate and sell in each other’s home cities. The debate near the nation’s capital has cooled in recent months, possibly due to the Commanders’ momentum in developing a new stadium project. The location of the stadium is a big part of the HMA equation — in less crowded parts of the country, a team’s HMA is simply a 75-mile radius from a stadium. If the team moved into a new venue at the old RFK Stadium site in Washington, D.C., its natural territory would only shift 9 miles to the west and would still include all of those two Maryland counties. But, two insiders speculated, it may be enough to open the door to a mutually acceptable resolution. ------------------------------ The M&T Bank Stadium Renovations Project Package 14 is an early release package for the renovation work at the stadium. Gilbane Building Company, in its role as Construction Manager, invites interested Trade Contractors to bid on the following bid packages: 01Z Final Cleaning (Field Level Clubs ONLY) / 09Y Carpet/VCT / 04Z Masonry / 09Z Painting / 05Z Miscellaneous Metals / 10Z Signage/Graphics / 06Y Rough Carpentry / 27Z Telecom/AV/Security (NW and North Gates ONLY) / 06Z Millwork 32X Synthetic Turf / 07Z Fireproofing / 32Y Concrete Hardscapes / 09U Ceramic / Tile / 32Z Landscaping Bidders must prequalify online at https://compass-app.com prior to submitting their bidAll additional information will be provided to invited/pre-qualified trade contractors via Bid Supplement through Requests for Information (RFI) are due by December 23, 2024, by no later than 4:00pm. Interested bidders may contact Vanessa Ellis with Gilbane Building Company at: Vanessa Ellis vellis@gilbaneco.com The value listed is that of the total project value. Although a firm timeline has not been confirmed, construction is not expected to start prior to first quarter 2025. *Project information, including timeline and contacts, has been obtained through public sources. The content management team continues to pursue additional details; however, the contact(s) listed have yet to disclose or confirm any information. Inquiries should be directed to the contact(s) listed.