Counting down . . .

It's almost showtime.  I've been watching the preparations from afar all week, but did a quick run through at M&T to see the finishing touches being put on the stadium before tomorrow night's debut.

The production trucks, which arrived Monday, have now been positioned into their game day slots.  Some are in the stadium and ones with satellites are in the lots closest to the field.

Our new turf  (feeling a tad more comfortable since its workout Saturday) is getting its warpaint.  That's the grounds crew (yes, a synthetic surface requires grooming, too) spray painting the team emblem on the 50 yard line.

On a day like today, the special formula (water-soluable, but rain resistant) paint will dry in about 10 minutes, but that didn't excuse our unauthorized incursion on the field.  After royally reprimanding us for the faux pas, the head groundskeeper showed how the design is sketched with a template (note the black lines) and then filled with a hand held airbrush.  By tomorrow night, the artwork will be ready to withstand the trampling.  By the time Navy and Maryland roll in on Labor Day, the emblem will have been treated with a solvent and the paint easily washed away.




Vince Steier, our a/v technician extraordinaire, told me how dynamic the new graphics displays look on the high definition video boards.  I had a chance to see while leaving the field.  The images seem to jump at you when they flash on the screen.  Be sure to look for this one tomorrow night.  It's the kind of visual presentation that will fire up the crowd. 

The sun was quite bright when I took this photo, and the colors were still intense.  I can just imagine how it will look in the dark.

I was also happy to see that the new Gwynns Falls Trail map was in place at the Ostend/Warner entrance.  While it highlights the Camden complex on the Gwynns Falls Trail, it also shows visitors just how close we are to downtown and the route to get there (including light rail and Metro stops.)  This will be a big help to travelers who stay at the nearby Holiday Inn Express or arrive on the Greyhound, and a reminder that for many the Camden Yards complex is in use 365 days a year as a transit center.  We're pretty much in the middle of everything, and a hub for where to go and how to get there.