NFL American football franchise the Baltimore Ravens has this week unveiled one of two new ultra-high definition video boards at its M&T Bank Stadium.
The first structure forms part of a major, ongoing upgrade project at the venue, which will cost the team almost $145m (€124.7m/£111.4m).
According to The Baltimore Sun newspaper, phase one of this initiative includes the installation of the video boards, additional cameras and LED ribbon displays. The Ravens plan to complete this work ahead of the 2017 NFL season, which is due to kick off in September.
The 4K ultra-high definition video boards will be double the width of the former displays that were previously in place at the venue. Each display will measure approximately 200ft wide and 36ft high, and be placed behind each end zone on the upper level of the M&T Bank Stadium.
Speaking in January, Ravens president Dick Cass said the new board “will match, in terms of resolution and clarity of picture, any video display board in any stadium in the United States”.
Phase one has also seen LED ribbon displays installed at the venue, while additional 4K cameras have been added and the audio/video control room expanded.
Once the first part of the project has been completed, the Ravens will progress to phases two and three, during which escalators and elevators will be installed in the southeast corner of the stadium in time for the 2018 season, as well as in the northwest corner ahead of the 2019 campaign.
In addition, high-definition video boards – each measuring approximately 33ft wide and 44ft high – will be installed in all four corners of the venue.
Opened in September 1998, the venue was originally called the Ravens Stadium at Camden Yards, before going on to change its name to the PSINet Stadium in 1999.
However, in 2002, PSINet filed for bankruptcy and the venue reverted back to the Ravens Stadium, before changing to the M&T Bank Stadium a year later after M&T Bank agreed a naming rights deal. This agreement was extended in 2014 to run through to 2027.
Image: United States Department of Defense Cherie Cullen
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