The Baltimore Ravens were ready to dig. Then they put the shovels away.
In March, a tunnel-boring company founded by Elon Musk announced three winners for a contest in which cities, organizations and individuals could pitch a one-mile tunnel project to be built on the company’s dime.
Among the winners was a mysterious Baltimore project called Ravens Loop.
A Ravens spokesperson wrote in an email at the time that the organization appreciated being selected by The Boring Company but decided not to move forward with the project “following discussions with public partners.”
But adding to the mystery, the organization did not respond to a follow-up question about what the proposed Ravens Loop even was.
So The Banner dug in.
We filed public records requests with the Maryland Stadium Authority, the Maryland Department of Transportation and select Baltimore City officials, including within the mayor’s office, seeking any information the Ravens may have shared.
As a result, we got the pitch.
“WE’RE READY, ARE YOU? LET’S DIG,” reads a slide from the Ravens’ submission to the Tunnel Vision Challenge.
The proposal was for a roughly milelong tunnel from the stadium to Harbor East, looping around the Inner Harbor. A rudimentary map shows three stops at Camden Yards, the Baltimore Convention Center and Harborplace.
Was the idea a pedestrian walkway, or a tunnel for vehicles like the Vegas Loop, a Boring Company project that uses Teslas to connect Sin City attractions via an underground road? It wasn’t clear.
When asked to clarify for this story, the Ravens didn’t say.
But whether for Tesla tires or fans’ feet, the team won the company over, painting a tunnel as a problem solver in the city’s lively downtown, where scores of people visit every year, traffic snarls, and both state and private entities are investing heavily.
“By providing a dedicated, efficient route beneath some of our most congested surface areas, the tunnel would support smoother game and event-day operations, lighten the burden on our surrounding neighborhoods, and offer a mobility solution that scales with Baltimore’s growth,” Ravens president Sashi Brown wrote in the pitch deck.
Documents obtained by The Banner include a Feb. 23 letter of support from Mac Campbell, executive director of the Baltimore Convention Center. Campbell wrote he was “confident all stakeholders could easily align in championing such a project with The Boring Company,” referring to state and local agencies that control the public right-of-way downtown.
But it appears some top politicos may have been caught off guard.
“Wanted to flag a contest we entered for you — of course if we emerge as the winner, we would be partners with you on ensuring it’s completed in a thoughtful manner that meets city standards and objectives," wrote Adam Neuman, chief of staff and special advisor to Brown, in an email to Mayor Brandon Scott’s chief of staff, John Merrill. The message arrived March 20, when Ravens Loop had been named a finalist for the contest.
“I also think we could have done a better job of letting you know prior to the submission,” Neuman wrote.
In an emailed statement, Ravens spokesperson Chad Steele wrote that though the project was “exciting and transformative in concept, the sequencing and pace at which the competition was to move did not align with the Ravens and our public partners at the City and State.”
“We appreciate the Boring company’s efforts and interest in the project and Baltimore but determined it was best to not move forward,” Steele wrote. The statement did not address questions about when the organization first engaged the appropriate city and state offices about the proposal.
Scott’s office referred The Banner to a statement issued in March and declined to comment further.
Records indicate that an online meeting between Ravens executives and city- and state-level officials occurred on March 24.
A day later, while Baltimoreans were asking themselves what the heck Ravens Loop would be, the Ravens announced it was already a thing of the past.
The Ravens have spent the past few years making improvements in and around the stadium aimed at elevating the game day fan experience, including new lounges, outdoor spaces and video boards, thanks in part to more than $400 million in state-financed bonds.
Ravens Loop could have been one more. Would it have worked? Who’s to say.
On its face, the Ravens’ pitch to The Boring Company reads like a decent game plan:
First, improve connectivity not just on NFL Sundays but also for city commuters in an area choked by car traffic. Then lay the groundwork for what could be the first of a series of tunnels connecting other parts of the city.
Would a stroll through an underground tube be nicer than walking along Baltimore’s waterfront to the game? Maybe in the winter.
Would the tunnel be big enough to fit a train? No.
Would a Tesla-only, it’s-a-subway-but-not-really-underground road be just as snarled as Pratt Street on game day?
Baltimore may never know.
Maybe some things are better left in Las Vegas? Just ask Maxx Crosby.
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