NFL American football franchise the Baltimore Ravens has agreed a 10-year extension to its stadium naming rights deal with M&T Bank, taking the relationship through three decades.
The new contract will ensure the Ravens will continue to play their home games at M&T Bank Stadium through the 2037 season. Yesterday’s (Thursday’s) announcement marks the second time the financial services group and the Ravens have extended their partnership, which began as a 15-year agreement in 2003. The two sides also announced in May 2014 a 10-year extension that took the partnership through the 2027 NFL season.
The contract extension also preserves one of the longest-running stadium naming rights deals in the NFL. Only Raymond James Stadium (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), FedExField (Washington Commanders), Ford Field (Detroit Lions) and Gillette Stadium (New England Patriots) have maintained their relationships longer than M&T Bank and the Ravens.
Since first announcing their partnership on May 6, 2003, M&T and the Ravens have worked together with numerous business, community and elected leaders in an effort to strengthen communities throughout the Baltimore region. That commitment will continue as part of the organisations’ partnership extension and include additional investments in providing financial education programs to Greater Baltimore students each year.
Augie Chiasera, M&T Bank’s regional president for Greater Baltimore, said: “The partnership between M&T and the Ravens has worked so well for so long because the organisations share similar values of integrity, determination and teamwork and a common mission to make Baltimore better.
“That’s also why it made sense from M&T’s perspective to extend our partnership with the Ravens through the 2037 season. We take a lot of pride in seeing the M&T Bank name on our football team’s stadium. It’s a symbol of our commitment to serve the Baltimore community.”
Ravens owner, Steve Bisciotti, added: “When I first met (former M&T regional president) Bob Sadler in 2003, it quickly became apparent that M&T Bank is a special organisation and that we could be tremendous partners.
“From that moment, I knew we were aligned in the objective to serve our community, and it was clear that this wouldn’t be a short-term partnership. Their commitment is so much deeper than the name on a stadium. They have impacted countless individuals and organisations with exceptional compassion, and I couldn’t be happier with our relationship.
“We take great pride in our collaboration with M&T Bank, because our efforts are built on mutual respect and a meaningful connection to the community.”
The stadium naming rights are now aligned with the Ravens’ lease deal at the 71,000-seat venue commonly known as ‘The Bank’. In January, the Ravens extended its lease deal to play at M&T Bank Stadium until 2037.
The agreement, which had been due to expire in 2027, now includes two five-year options to extend the lease beyond 2037. At the time, it was stated that the Maryland Stadium Authority would continue to work closely with the Ravens to ensure M&T Bank Stadium is upgraded to remain a “best-in-class” facility in terms of safety, amenities and fan experience.
Commenting on future plans for The Bank, Ravens president Sashi Brown said yesterday, according to CBS Baltimore: “The foundation of our naming rights extension was our lease extension. We worked really well with the Maryland Stadium Authority.
“We’ve got a good pool of capital that we’re going to invest back into the stadium. We’re hard at work with some of the best architects and designers in the world that do a lot of stadium design.”
