Here’s what’s new — so far — at upgraded Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium (2024)

The beer hall is built, a new concessionaire is serving up crab-shaped pretzels and pricey suites have been newly minted as the first of a three-year is complete, just in time for the Ravens’ 2024 season.

Following the passage of a 2022 law and a 2023 lease agreement with the state of Maryland, which owns the stadium, the Maryland Stadium Authority began upgrading the venue shortly after the Ravens’ final game last season in January. The first round of renovations is now complete and attendees will get a first look Tuesday evening when European soccer teams AC Milan and FC Barcelona christen the renovated stadium.

Among the upgrades are The Gatehouse and Roof Deck, located outside Gate B, which Ravens senior vice president of stadium operations and guest experience Rich Tamayo dubbed the “best beer hall and roof deck in Baltimore.” The club level has also been upgraded, 136 plush seats have been installed on the field and 10 exclusive suites have replaced the press box, which was relocated to the southeast corner.

Those suites, named the Blackwing, are the most luxurious in the stadium. Season tickets to a suite, which can hold 20-30 people, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Ravens will soon kick off their season — after Tuesday’s soccer match, American football will be played Friday at 7:30 p.m. with a Ravens preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles — but come January, the stadium authority will continue with another offseason renovation in 2025 and 2026. Those renovations, designed by architect Gensler and built by construction company Gilbane, include additional plazas and field-level clubs.

Also new this season will be the concessionaire Levy, which manages food and beverage at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, operating at the Ravens stadium under the name “Hospitality Evermore.” During a media tour Monday, Levy chef Adam Carter shared several food items: chicken seasoned with McCormick spices, a crab-shaped pretzel, and a rotating “hot dog of the day.” First up for Tuesday’s soccer match: a Spanish-inspired sausage in honor of Barcelona.

After signing a lease that keeps them at M&T Bank Stadium until at least 2037, the Ravens were able to benefit from a chunk of state money, with $430 million of that being used for this project. The stadium authority will issue bonds and borrow money from JPMorgan Chase to finance the upcoming improvements, which will ultimately be paid off over more than a decade with lottery revenue.

“The three-year renovation is going to be upward of $400 million, probably closer to $500 million,” Ravens president Sashi Brown said in an interview Monday. “We, the Ravens, are actually going to co-invest with some tens of millions of dollars from our end as well. That’s the way that it’s heading now.”

The Ravens have two options to extend their lease at M&T Bank Stadium by five years and could exercise one or both of them to access more public money (the amount of state bonds available is tied to the length of the lease), but have not opted to do so.

Brown highlighted that a stadium with “dynamic” renovations might enable the Ravens to attract more third-party events to the stadium, like Tuesday’s soccer match. He acknowledged that over the next two offseasons, it might be a “little more quiet” in terms of events because of the renovations, but that the Ravens will chase events like concerts and college football games going forward.

“In the meantime,” he said, “we gotta build it.”

Originally Published: August 5, 2024 at 5:42 p.m.