Baltimore Ravens Training Facility

When the NFL's Baltimore Ravens debuted the team's new $31 million training facility in Owings Mills, MD, it was hailed as "the best in the league, the model for all other franchises and the ultimate training ground for players." Among the distinctive features cited of this "real life fantasy football facility" were 100 high-contrast Panasonic widescreen plasma displays including 50", 42" and 37" models.

Previously, the Ravens — the 2000 Super Bowl champions — had trained at the old Colts' facility, where the audio/visual capabilities were much more rudimentary. Now, twelve 50" 16:9 HD plasma displays are used in the facility's upper management offices and in the cardio areas of the weight room and players' lounge.

Forty-six 42" plasmas have been installed in coaches and scouting offices for viewing football footage, in the dining area and waiting areas, as well as for use as a QC monitor with quad-split screen in the edit suite. In addition, forty-two 37" plasma displays have also been placed in general office spaces.

The Panasonic plasmas are shown off to particularly luxurious advantage in owner Steve Bisciotti's billiards room (a 42" model) and in a beautifully-appointed entertainment anteroom to his office (a 50" model).

According to the Ravens' video coordinator Jon Dube, "I have always been impressed with Panasonic's picture quality and the overall performance of the company's displays. The plasmas are providing rock-solid pictures. At the previous facility, there was a mishmash of outdated televisions—nothing bigger than 36". The Panasonic plasmas have introduced us to a whole new level of entertainment and information exchange.

"As far as contributing to our organization, we broadcast our press conferences — and just about anything else we want to show — over our in-house RF system. We have control over four channels, so it's like a mini-TV station. We also have a video server that we can route to a channel and run loops of highlights scroll schedules. The plasma displays give us a great ability to communicate to everyone in our facility."