Ravens-M&T Bank camaraderie to continue

Article posted by Coliseum, April 28^th, 2023

Image: M&T Bank Stadium, BullDawg2021, CC BY-SA 4.0

The National Football League (NFL) team Baltimore Ravens will continue to play their home games at ‘The Bank’ in Baltimore, Maryland (US) through the 2037 season.

‘M&T Bank/Newsroom’ stated that the American bank M&T Bank and the Ravens have reached an agreement to extend their strategic partnership for another 10 years beyond the current contract, which was set to expire after the 2027 season. The announcement comes almost 20 years to the day after the organizations entered a partnership that has always been about more than putting the bank’s name on the 71,000-seat M&T Bank Stadium – often referred to simply as ‘The Bank’.

The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland (US). The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference North division. The team plays its home games at the M&T Bank Stadium and is headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland.

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The Baltimore Ravens are one of six NFL franchises to win multiple Super Bowls since the turn of the century. Under head coach John Harbaugh, who arrived in 2008, Baltimore has posted the NFL’s fourth-most total victories (158), won the league’s third-most playoff games (11, tied), advanced to an impressive three AFC Championship contests, and in 2012, captured the World Championship in Super Bowl XLVII. The Ravens, who also won Super Bowl XXXV during the 2000 campaign, have made the playoffs in 10 of the past 15 seasons -producing four AFC North Division titles during this time (2011, 2012, 2018, and 2019).

The 71,008-capacity M&T Bank Stadium is a multipurpose football stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland (US). It is the home of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). The stadium is immediately adjacent to the 45,971-capacity Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the home of the Major League Baseball (MLB) team Baltimore Orioles.

The M&T Bank Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. M&T’s principal banking subsidiary, M&T Bank, provides banking products and services in 12 States across Northeastern United States – from Maine to Virginia and Washington, D.C. Trust-related services are provided in select markets in the US and abroad by M&T’s Wilmington Trust-affiliated companies and by the M&T Bank.

‘M&T Bank/Newsroom’ further stated that since first announcing their partnership on May 6^th, 2003, the M&T and the Ravens have worked together with numerous business, community and elected leaders to strengthen communities throughout the Baltimore region. That commitment will continue as part of the organizations’ partnership extension and include additional investments in providing financial education programs to the Greater Baltimore students each year.

The contract extension also preserves one of the longest-running stadium naming rights deals in the National Football League (NFL). Only the 75,000-capacity Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida (home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), the 82,000-capacity FedExField in Maryland (home of the Washington Commanders), the 65,000-capacity Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan (home of the Detroit Lions), and the 65,878-capacity Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts (home of the New England Patriots) have maintained their relationships longer than the M&T Bank and the Baltimore Ravens.

Financial terms of the latest agreement were not disclosed.

Observed Augie Chiasera, M&T Bank’s Regional President for Greater Baltimore, “The partnership between M&T and the Ravens has worked so well for so long because the organizations share similar values of integrity, determination, work ethics 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.”

This marks the second time the M&T 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. With five more seasons remaining on that contract, the latest agreement extends the partnership through 2037.

Stated Steve Bisciotti, Ravens Owner, “When I first met [M&T Board member] Bob Sadler in 2003, it quickly became apparent that the M&T Bank is a special organization 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 organizations with exceptional compassion, and I couldn’t be happier with our relationship. We take great pride in our collaboration with the M&T Bank, because our efforts are built on mutual respect and a meaningful connection to the community.”

Added Sashi Brown, Ravens President, “We are thrilled and honored to extend our longstanding partnership with the M&T Bank, our great teammates in serving Baltimore. M&T has grown into one of the top banks in the nation and has established itself as a leader in community impact work. We share M&T’s commitment to pursuing excellence and community impact, and that alignment has allowed our partnership to flourish. The past two decades together are worth celebrating, and it brings us great excitement to know that the iconic moments at the M&T Bank Stadium – ‘The Bank’ – will continue.”

Beyond Football Partnership

When the M&T and the Ravens began their partnership 20 years ago, they pledged to combine the strength of the two organizations to improve communities throughout the Baltimore area. The M&T and the Ravens have delivered on those promises – and many more.

As a partner of the Ravens Foundation Inc. since 2003, the M&T Bank has contributed more than $1 million, which has been allocated to a range of community initiatives during the past 20 years. The Ravens Foundation is the team’s charitable arm committed to encouraging and enabling the healthy development of youth in Baltimore and other parts of Maryland. Recent Foundation projects include the installation of new educational spaces at Baltimore City’s Franklin Square Elementary/Middle School and a Ravens-themed playground at the Northwest Regional Park in Owings Mills, Maryland. In July 2022, the Foundation distributed $100,000 in grants to help several nonprofit organizations fund a variety of projects, including interscholastic athletic programs for students with disabilities, cooking and nutrition education, boxing training, and after-school mentorship programs.

Employees of M&T Bank and the Ravens also have rolled up their sleeves together to volunteer in communities throughout Baltimore during the past two decades. Those projects have included neighborhood landscaping and beautification, stream cleanups, food drives, school supply distribution, playground construction, and more. In 2019, the M&T and the Ravens partnered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Baltimore to renovate the Webster Kendrick Club at Callaway Elementary School in Baltimore. In 2022, more than 100 volunteers from M&T and the Ravens picked thousands of pounds of potatoes at the First Fruits Farm in Baltimore County for distribution to food banks and pantries throughout Central Maryland and parts of Pennsylvania and Virginia. More than 100 employees from both organizations also have participated in Earth Day cleanup activities over the past two years, including the most recent project at the Greenmount West Community Center in Baltimore on April 18th.

Commented Francesco Lagutaine, M&T Bank’s Chief Marketing Officer, “Our partnership with the Baltimore Ravens is not simply about name recognition. It’s about connecting with the Baltimore community in meaningful ways that improve the lives of our neighbors.”

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