Title:
Fast-Track Build of Baltimore Ravens Stadium
Author(s):
Allen Smith
Publication:
Concrete International
Volume:
21
Issue:
11
Appears on pages(s):
57-60
Keywords:
columns; fast-track construction; formwork; precast concrete; stadiums;
T-beams
DOI:
Date:
11/1/1999
Abstract:
In 1995, the Maryland Stadium Authority, to entice a new pro football franchise to Baltimore, promised a new stadium to seat 68,000 by the 1998 season. The construction schedule had to be compressed to 2.5 years. Four above-grade concrete floor levels circumnavigate the oval stadium. On the field side, these levels serve precast concrete seating spanning the sloping raker beams. On the exterior are three sets of walkup ramps that feature a steel frame, metal deck, and concrete plus eight concrete stair towers. All exterior concrete is faced with brick, limestone, or steel trim. The structure for the four above-grade floor levels is a combination cast-in-place and precast frame, consisting of cast-in-place concrete columns spanned by inverted T-beams oriented along each of the stadium’s 54 radial grid lines. To simplify construction of the cast-in-place inverted T-beams, a one-piece, self-spanning steel beam form was chosen.