M&T Bank Stadium
From Free net encyclopedia
Template:Infobox Stadium M&T Bank Stadium is the home to the Baltimore Ravens, Baltimore's National Football League franchise. Opened in 1998, M&T Bank Stadium is one of the newest and most state-of-the-art stadiums built. M&T Bank Stadium was formerly known as Ravens Stadium, then PSINet Stadium in 1999 after ISP PSINet acquired naming rights. It then reverted back to being called Ravens Stadium in 2002 when PSINet filed for bankruptcy. In 2003 M&T Bank acquired naming rights to the stadium. Two other companies were in the running to be granted naming rights to the stadium; they were reportedly, Nextel and CarMax.
Following the September 2002 death of Baltimore Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas, public sentiment leaned toward renaming the then-sponsorless stadium after the Baltimore icon. However, the Ravens and the Maryland Stadium Authority held firm in their right to negotiate naming rights fees. In the end, a plaza on the stadium's northwest corner was named "Unitas Plaza", complete with a bronze statue of the Hall of Famer (in 2003, Towson University in the Baltimore suburbs named their home stadium, where the NCAA Division I-AA Tigers play, after Unitas).
Located in downtown Baltimore, the stadium is immediately adjacent to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles. The stadium is served by the Hamburg Street station of the Baltimore Light Rail.
The stadium served as the home field for the fictional professional football team The Washington Sentinels in the 2000 movie The Replacements with Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman.
The stadium also serves as an alternate venue for Johns Hopkins University's popular and dominant men's lacrosse team, and was the site of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship in 2003 and 2004.