The Ravens may need to find some "Pardon Our Dust" signs to hang outside the team's locker room.
Owner Steve Bisciotti said during an interview at the owners meetings Tuesday that the organization is planning a major expansion project to the Under Armour Performance Center that will cost about $35 million.
"It's time," Bisciotti said.
The building is 12 years old and is still considered one of the premier team facilities in the NFL, but the organization's staff has grown rapidly during that time. The Ravens have seen significant growth in areas such as marketing and digital media since the original construction, and Bisciotti estimated that non-player personnel has grown by about 50 percent during his time as owner.
The team also holds training camp at the facility, instead of going off-site, bringing in 90 players each summer which crowds the locker room. The Ravens currently need to use portable lockers to accommodate the increased roster during camp.
"When we built it, there was room to grow," Bisciotti said. "We actually had pockets of space in that building that were unused, that were closed off. We had offices around them, but we had a few pockets of space, and we quickly busted through and made offices."
The Ravens are still in the process of working out the details, and Bisciotti has seen six different proposals from President Dick Cass. The cost is expected to match the amount it cost to build the entire facility in 2004.
As part of the project, the Ravens plan to enlarge the locker room and training room. They will also increase office space and plan to build an area for injury-prevention training methods.
"I don't think our training room is big enough," Bisciotti said. "We need a lot more space for preventative, whether that's hyperbaric chambers and things like that."
The bulk of the expansion will take place on the side of the building that currently houses the business staff. That side is* *only one story tall, and the Ravens want to add another level. The options include demolishing that side of the building and starting from scratch on a two-story structure, or putting an addition onto that space.
Bisciotti stressed that an important piece of the equation is making sure that the coaching and scouting staffs remain in the same general area without any sort of major disruption.
"I even said to Dick that he and I could end up moving to the other building if that's what it takes," he said. "It's just trying to figure out how much we need to steal from one department."
In addition to the work in Owings Mills, the Ravens also plan to continue making major investments in M&T Bank Stadium. The team has already gone through a series of significant renovations the last few years to improve the overall gameday experience, and those efforts will continue.
"We're constantly looking at investing more in the stadium," Bisciotti said. "We're not going anywhere. It's the perfect place in Baltimore."
