Ravenous for Football
To Baltimore Colts fans who had been singing the blues for 12 years, the Ravens' preseason opener was sweet music
by Kelly Whiteside
of the Washington Post
August 1, 1996
After Baltimore Colts owner Bob Irsay packed up his team and bolted to Indianapolis under the cover of darkness that snowy March night in 1984, the Baltimore Colts Band played on. Its members kept on practicing every Wednesday; kept performing at parades, other NFL games and at the Preakness; kept playing Let's Go You Baltimore Colts! even though the fight was over and NFL teams were being awarded to cities (Charlotte! Jacksonville!) with no pro football tradition. The band became a symbol of Baltimore's love affair with its Colts.
The 1996 campaign begins with a preseason contest against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first weekend in August.
Last Saturday when the band's bus pulled into the parking lot at Memorial Stadium, the Colts' old home, for the Baltimore Ravens' first exhibition game, the 200 elated musicians yelled, "We're home!" Not exactly. But the NFL is indeed back in Baltimore, and 63,804 fans, the largest crowd in Memorial Stadium history, witnessed its homecoming as the Ravens beat the Philadelphia Eagles 17-9.
As the band marched onto the field to a standing ovation, tears of joy streamed down John Ziemann's cheeks. Ziemann, the band's president and a member since 1962, met his wife, Charlene, on the Memorial Stadium turf in 1968, when she was a cheerleader (she now instructs the flagline, and their 16 year-old son, Christopher, is a member of the color guard). Given that the Colts have been part of so many Baltimoreans' lives, fans generally view the Ravens—those Cleveland Browns transplanted by Art Modell—as the New Colts. "It will take a generation or so [before the Ravens establish their own identity]," says Ziemann. "When we think of the Colts, we think of Baltimore. When my youngest son, Patrick, who is 12, thinks of the Colts, he thinks of Indianapolis." Rest assured, Baltimore Colts fans, Ziemann's band is now the official band of the Ravens (but it won't change its name until the last game of the 1997 season). The fight song's melody will remain the same; only the words will be changed.
Another throwback to the Colts' era is Ravens coach Ted Marchibroda, who was Baltimore's coach from 1975 to '79. Can Marchibroda work a little of his magic on the Ravens? This team went 5-11 last year, but quick turnarounds are his specialty. He took Baltimore to the playoffs a year after a 2-12 season in '74, and last year he guided Indianapolis, a .500 team in '94, to within a Hail Mary pass of the Super Bowl.
When the Ravens ran out of the tunnel last Saturday they looked nothing like the Colts—or the Browns—for that matter. They wore black pants and white jerseys with funky-looking purple numbers. The team's nickname comes from the famous poem written by Baltimore's Edgar Allan Poe, though fans looking to establish traditions haven't delved into that rich trove of ideas just yet. Will Memorial Stadium be known as the House of Ushers? Will tight end Frank Hartley be nicknamed Tell-Tale Hartley? Nevermore. So far, only the Raven Caw noisemakers have caught on. The stadium sound system also blasts a caaaaaw recording, which, as left tackle Tony Jones says, "sounds like they're choking the bird."
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For the next two seasons the Ravens will play at Memorial Stadium while awaiting the completion of their $200 million, 68,400-seat home in the shadow of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Modell abandoned creaky Cleveland Stadium because of the sweetheart deal Baltimore gave him—the stadium is being financed largely by tax revenue and state lottery proceeds. Almost 58,000 season tickets have been sold, and Modell will have to kick in only $24 million to build the Ravens' new stadium.
Baltimore fans were willing to shell out big bucks for season tickets. Dennis Clampitt, a 32-year-old cable splicer for Baltimore Gas and Electric, took out a $6,000 bank loan to pay for his pair. Clampitt is the type of fan who recites the Colts-quiz scene from the movie Diner; the type who just gets "goose bumps walking into this place again." And he is not alone. Walk down any aisle in Memorial Stadium and you'll find someone just like him.
That may explain why Modell, the most vilified owner in sports, is considered a hero in Baltimore. Euphoric fans—they call themselves Raven Maniacs—are overjoyed to have a team again.
Only in Baltimore.... When Modell addressed the crowd at midfield before the first game, he was greeted with applause. Fans screamed, "Thanks, Art!" They chanted his name. "The last time I received an ovation like that was when I left town," the 71-year-old Modell cracked later. "The last time I was this happy was when I bought the Browns 35 years ago. I'm happy because I'm being embraced by the community and so is the team. This is a renewal for Art Modell, a new era. It's more than just a preseason game."
Still, others haven't been taken in by his charm. They realize that Modell didn't move the Browns to Baltimore because he felt sorry for jilted Colts fans; he moved to make a ton of money. "He's no better than Irsay," says Wayne Wise, a season-ticket holder from Glenelg, Md. "Cleveland made him, and then he did them wrong."
Only in Baltimore.... Vinny Testaverde, probably the most maligned quarterback in football, is treated like the second coming of Johnny Unitas. Just about every kid who wore a Ravens jersey last Saturday wore Testaverde's number 12.
Only in Baltimore.... The team's fans don't seem to notice that the front-office troika—vice presidents David Modell and Ozzie Newsome and financial officer Pat Moriarty—bear a close resemblance to the Three Stooges. First, they gave rookie offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden an unbelievably generous contract: a $6.79 million signing bonus and a $15.4 million salary over seven years, an unprecedented amount for the fourth pick in the draft and more than the New York Jets offered wideout Keyshawn Johnson, the No. 1 pick. Then, citing salary-cap concerns, the Ravens cut veteran linebacker Pepper Johnson and receiver Andre Rison. And when the Ravens signed Indianapolis receiver Floyd Turner, who, with Calvin Williams, will try to replace Rison, they failed to file the appropriate paperwork with the NFL, for which they could be fined or docked a draft pick. The fans don't seem to notice these front-office bungles because all that matters right now is that football is back.
So it was a wonderful end to a new beginning on Saturday when a rookie from nearby Lanham, Md., turned out to be the star. Receiver Jermaine Lewis, the team's fifth-round pick out of Maryland, returned a punt 75 yards down the left sideline with 2:08 remaining to put the Ravens up by eight.
At the end of the game the fans cheered as if it were 1958 and Unitas had just beaten the New York Giants in sudden death for the NFL title. The usually undemonstrative Testaverde tipped his baseball cap and pointed appreciatively at the crowd. Several players threw their sweaty gloves, towels and wristbands to a throng gathered near their locker room entrance.
A few minutes later receiver Michael Jackson, who scored the first touchdown in Ravens history, explained why he had then handed the ball to a fan sitting behind the end zone. "It's the least I could do," said Jackson. "They've waited 12 years for this."
PSINet to Put Its Name on Ravens Field
By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 26, 1999; Page E01
Joining the ranks of Qualcomm, Compaq and 3Com, PSINet of Herndon will become the latest high-tech company to hitch its name to a sports stadium.
The little-known Internet-service provider is set to announce today a multimillion-dollar deal with the Baltimore Ravens to rename the football team's Camden Yards facility the PSINet Stadium, industry sources said yesterday.
That's Pee-Ess-Eye-Net Stadium.
Sports industry consultant Dean Bonham estimated yesterday that PSINet could pay Ravens owner Art Modell as much as $100 million over 20 years for the "naming rights" and related tie-ins, although neither the team nor the company would comment. If Bonham's estimate is correct, that would make it the largest such deal in a recent string of stadium agreements.
Modell owns the right to sell the name of the $220 million stadium, which was built primarily with state funds and is popularly known as Ravens Stadium. The team paid the Maryland Stadium Authority $10 million for the right to sell the name.
Naming rights have become a growing promotional tool for corporations and a ready source of cash for team owners. Most new sports facilities, such as Washington's MCI Center, carry the names of corporate "sponsors," and a number of older venues have been renamed as well.
PSINet is a fast-growing Internet service provider that is barely known outside of a few thousand corporate technology officers and Wall Street investors. That's mainly because the company provides Internet and intranet services mostly to other corporations, which then resell the service under their own brand names to small accounts and individual users.
Buying the rights to the stadium "could be a great move" for PSINet, said Bonham, who has consulted on other stadium-naming deals. "It's a perfect opportunity for a company to gain a lot of brand recognition" among corporate executives and consumers.
In addition to having its name affixed to the year-old stadium located next door to Oriole Park, PSINet will benefit from free media exposure, particularly national TV coverage of Ravens home games. Football also happens to be a sport followed primarily by men, who are PSINet's target customers.
Longtime sports fans have watched, often puzzled, as beloved stadiums have been christened with unfamiliar names, such as 3Com Park (nee Candlestick) in San Francisco and Qualcomm Stadium (formerly Jack Murphy Stadium), the home of the baseball Padres and football Chargers in San Diego.
The prospective owners of the Washington Redskins have indicated that they will sell naming rights to Jack Kent Cooke Stadium once their $800 million offer for the team is approved by the National Football League.
The most popular "name" sponsors are banks (nine facilities) and airlines (eight facilities), but tech companies are catching up. In addition to 3Com and Compaq Computer (which sponsors the home of the Houston Rockets basketball team), computer equipment supplier Network Associates has put its name on the Oakland Raiders' home base and software maker Corel Corp. hosts the Ottawa Senators hockey team.
PSINet's stock price has more than quadrupled in the past year, largely as a result of investors' mania for all companies related to the Internet, but partly on talk that the firm could be a takeover candidate. Yesterday the stock surged 8.6 percent, or $2.75 a share, closing at $34.75 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Several companies have struck stadium naming deals in the past, only to be taken over shortly thereafter. When CoreStates Bank was purchased by First Union Bank last year, the Core States Arena in Philadelphia became the First Union Arena. Similarly, the Shawmut Center in Boston became the Fleet Center after Fleet Financial took over Shawmut Bank of Boston in 1995.
Stadium Name Deal Criticized - (ANNAPOLIS) -- Not only are Ravens football fans not thrilled about the new football stadium's name ... but one state senator calls it a slap in the face of every Maryland taxpayer. The stadium's name was part of a deal worked out between the team and Herndon Virginia's, PSINet. Republican Senator Chris McCabe says the more than 105-and-a-half- Million dollar, 20-year deal reminds every citizen in the state how lucrative the original stadium deal was for Ravens owner Art Modell. McCabe says Modell's ten-Million dollar contributions to the state in 1996 to secure the stadium's naming rights will result in a one-thousand-per-cent return on his investment. McCabe adds he's especially offended that the name was sold to a Northern Virginia based company rather than a Maryland company.
BALTIMORE/NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 26, 1999--
PSINet Inc., (NASDAQ: PSIX - news), the first and largest independent commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP), today announced an innovative partnership with the National Football League's (NFL) Baltimore Ravens to develop a global Internet-based network for the Ravens that will significantly enhance outreach between fans and the team, as well as establish a new business model for sports marketing. Under the agreement, PSINet will develop and host a Ravens Web site, (www.baltimoreravens.com) containing unique and exclusive content. PSINet will also create a Ravens branded Internet service
(www.ravenszone.net), available only to subscribing fan members, which will offer Internet connectivity, access to special restricted content and numerous other value added features. Both the general Web site and subscriber site will be complete and fully operational April 17, 1999 in coincidence with NFL Draft Day.
Collectively, these services will provide fans unprecedented access to team players and personnel. Commercial aspects of the transaction are expected to bring revenues to both organizations through service and membership fees, e-commerce and promotional ventures. The pact, which involves a 20-year commitment, also provides for naming rights to the NFL Stadium at Camden Yards in Baltimore, which will become PSINet Stadium, as well as primary sponsorship of all team events. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
www.baltimoreravens.com will offer fans team access including team data and profiles, a stadium tour, cheerleader information, Baltimore's Marching Ravens Band performances and other features to be announced as the site evolves. In addition, PSINet and the Ravens will offer fans an opportunity to subscribe to a special member's only package of services (www.ravenszone.net) including Internet access; restricted Web content such as access to breaking news, press conferences, pre-scheduled player autograph sessions, player chat rooms and bulletin boards, unsold tickets (priority standing), game balls, practice sessions, fan playbooks, coaching films and previously recorded Ravens television shows; as well as bonus miles and other currency type premiums.
The Web sites will also contain e-commerce applications allowing fans worldwide to purchase Ravens merchandise online, as well as smart tickets and branded phone cards.
PSINet will additionally provide a variety of innovative technologies for use in the stadium. Interactive kiosks will be placed on the stadium concourse and PSINet will have the exclusive right to provide high speed Internet services to the stadium offices and all corporate suites.
``The City of Baltimore and the Baltimore Ravens should be applauded for the leadership position they have taken in sports management. The PSINet/Ravens partnership will bring fan involvement to an entirely new level. We intend to develop the first truly successful affinity Internet service for the sports industry, which will significantly increase awareness of various aspects of team operations and personnel as well as football itself. We believe the agreement will benefit the Ravens, their fans, PSINet shareholders and the sports industry,'' said Harold S. (Pete) Wills, president and chief operating officer of PSINet.
"We're extremely pleased to be working with a cutting-edge Internet company, whose operations match our organization's efforts to develop an innovative communications infrastructure that will take us well into the next century. The fans of the Ravens in Baltimore and throughout the country are the ultimate winners as we begin to roll out a series of programs and incentives that will connect them to this team in ways never previously accomplished. Fans will finally be able to reach out and `touch the cloth' of the players with the ultimate online sports tool,'' said David Modell, executive vice president of the Ravens.
The Baltimore Ravens were established in 1996 under the direction of Art Modell, who operated the Cleveland Browns for 35 years (1961-1995). In 38 years of NFL ownership, Modell and his family have produced an impressive 24 winning seasons. The Ravens play in a new stadium, which opened in August of 1998 and was filled to capacity for the team's 10 home games in the first season. The Ravens enjoy one of the NFL's largest season ticket bases with over 55,000 permanent seat license holders out of 69,000 seats. The energetic organization is noted for a number of off-field innovations, including its own marching band (over 300 members) and the Ravens' Foundation for Families. The franchise was the first NFL team to produce its own television shows, pre-season games and full-color pre-season magazine, as well as sell moments of exclusivity to advertisers at home games.
Headquartered in Herndon, VA, PSINet is a global facilities-based Internet Protocol (IP) data communications carrier focused on the business marketplace. As the first and largest independent commercial Internet service provider in the world, PSINet offers a broad set of high-speed corporate LAN connectivity services supporting managed
security and guaranteed Internet, intranet, electronic commerce, Web hosting services, and services for other carriers and ISPs. PSINet operates an international state-of-the-art frame relay-based, IP-optimized network consisting of over 500 points of presence (PoPs) around the world serving primary markets in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea,
Switzerland, the United States, and The United Kingdom. General PSINet information can be obtained by e-mail at info@psi.com, by accessing the Web site at http://www.psinet.com, or by calling 800-809-3711.
Contact:
PSINet
Bob Leahy (703) 904-4100 ext 1063
Reid Walker/Mike Binko (703) 904-4285
Baltimore Ravens
Kevin Byrne (410) 654-6240
Alan Taylor Communications
Jason Howarth
(800) 229-4758
January 26, 1999 - Washington Post
Joining the ranks of Qualcomm, Compaq and 3Com, PSINet of Herndon will become the latest high-tech company to hitch its name to a sports stadium.
The little-known Internet-service provider is set to announce today a multimillion-dollar deal with the Baltimore Ravens to rename the football team's Camden Yards facility the PSINet Stadium, industry sources said yesterday.
That's Pee-Ess-Eye-Net Stadium.
Sports industry consultant Dean Bonham estimated yesterday that PSINet could pay Ravens owner Art Modell as much as $100 million over 20 years for the "naming rights" and related tie-ins, although neither the team nor the company would comment. If Bonham's estimate is correct, that would make it the largest such deal in a recent string of stadium agreements
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, May 6, 2003 --- The Baltimore Ravens and M&T Bank announced today that they have entered into a long-term, strategic marketing relationship. The 15-year, $75 million agreement includes naming rights to the Ravens’ home field at Camden Yards, which will become “M&T Bank Stadium,” as well as several important community-focused programs that will be jointly administered.
"This is a win-win-win situation," explained Ravens’ owner Art Modell. "The Ravens win, because we stay competitive with other NFL teams in our quest for another Super Bowl championship; M&T Bank wins, because they become instantly established in the hearts and minds of our fans; and the Baltimore region wins, because of our shared commitment to this great community."
"M&T believes in making meaningful, long-term commitments and investments in the communities we serve – and M&T believes that Baltimore has unlimited potential," Robert Sadler, president of M&T Bank, said. “There is no better way to utilize our marketing dollars to achieve cost-effective, high-impact recognition in a new marketplace. The M&T-Ravens partnership immediately and powerfully connects the combined strengths of our two teams.”
"Baltimore is one of the most competitive marketplaces in the country, and we will be going up against some of the biggest banking conglomerates in the business," said William Mabee, M&T's senior vice president of marketing. "Our partnership with the Ravens builds brand awareness quickly, effectively and efficiently. M&T’s green and the Raven’s purple is a perfect match."
Under the agreement, M&T Bank receives broad corporate branding exposure to tens of millions of people through an array of highly visible outlets, including extensive local signage, television and radio exposure and a host of community-based promotional programs. The Ravens benefit from a long-term revenue stream that they can use to invest in Baltimore both on and off the field. And the community as a whole benefits from the broad range of programs that M&T and the Ravens will promote together.
Agreement Components
Corporate Branding:
As part of the deal, M&T Bank receives an array of stadium corporate identification signage, both inside and outside of the facility, including “moments of exclusivity” which will be viewed by nearly 70,000 fans who attend each home game and millions more who watch the Ravens on television. There’s also the added-value of M&T Bank ATMs located strategically throughout the stadium. The M&T Bank name and logo will appear on the exterior of the stadium, as well as on signage along the surrounding interstate highways, directing motorists to the stadium. An estimated 81 million cars pass the stadium every year. Including television, radio and internet coverage of the Ravens, the total high impact impressions of M&T Bank is estimated to exceed 350 million annually, according to Joyce Julius and Associates; NTIV ratings.
M&T Bank All Community Team:
M&T Bank becomes the lead sponsor of this tremendously successful program that unites the Ravens organization with Baltimore's business leadership to help support the community in meaningful ways, including fundraising, volunteerism and involvement in projects that meet some of Baltimore's most pressing needs. The All Community Team also gives significant support to the M&T Bank/Ravens Families Foundation, which provides assistance to an array of social education, anti-drug and anti-delinquency programs, football clinics and youth mentoring, among other community outreach activities.
M&T Bank Honor Rows:
M&T Bank and the Ravens will honor 150 economically and socially disadvantaged children at each home game. To be chosen, the children must avoid unhealthy and destructive behaviors, and instead, must achieve better academic performance and provide leadership and service to others in their communities. Managed in conjunction with the Governor's Office on Service and Volunteerism, the M&T Bank Honor Rows program recognizes children who have met the criteria by featuring them on the M&T Bank Stadium SMARTVISION boards, where they can show off their Ravens/M&T Bank Tee-shirts and wave to friends and families at home or in the stands.
M&T Bank Football 101:
This long-time Ravens program, created at the urging of women, also comes under M&T Bank's sponsorship. Each Football 101 participant attends a special session coached by Ravens experts on topics vital to the game like offense, defense, special teams, salary caps and scouting. Students receive a Football 101 workbook and a special commemorative recognition for completing the course. Four Football 101 sessions during the 2002 season drew more than 700 students and generated a waiting list of over 400 more.
M&T Bank Marching Ravens:
The M&T Bank Marching Ravens are the largest marching band in the NFL, numbering more than 250 musicians and 50 flag line performers in M&T branded, purple and white military-style uniforms. The musicians and performers are an important tradition in Baltimore. Proven crowd pleasers at every Ravens’ home game, the Marching Ravens also serve as community ambassadors, bringing their own brand of exciting, championship spirit to more than 30 community performances each year.
Agreement Hinged on Shared Cultures
"We have always tried to make the Baltimore Ravens a first-rate, world-class organization that can win Super Bowls, be a successful, well-managed business, while doing our part to make this city and area a better place to live. We took our time to find the right partner, because we wanted to team up with a company that shared the same creed and commitment." Modell continued. "M&T Bank is committed to serving this area for the long run, and our partnership will go a long way in helping us achieve our common goals."
"We've found in the Ravens the same qualities and values that we hold important within our company: integrity, commitment, determination, leadership, teamwork, community focus and a belief in doing well by doing good," said Sadler. "We could have no better partners as we enter this market than we have in the Ravens organization."
Woody Collins, president of M&T's Mid-Atlantic region, said; "M&T is the nation's 18th largest bank and Baltimore is the nation's 18th largest media market. NFL football, sports and entertainment are enormous engines of economic activity for major cities like Baltimore. The Ravens create jobs, boost tourist & convention bookings, fill hotels and restaurants and generate tax revenues, and this partnership is fuel for future growth – for M&T Bank, for the Ravens and for Greater Baltimore."
About M&T Bank Corp: M&T Bank, (NYSE: MTB), a subsidiary of M&T Bank Corporation and headquartered in Buffalo, New York, is the 18th largest bank holding company in the U.S. with combined assets of more than $50 billion. M&T Bank serves customers through 700 branches in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.
