SportsQuest
All games

Week 18, Sun, Jan 10, 1:00 PM local

Pittsburgh Steelersat Baltimore Ravens

M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore. Fly into BWI.

Build the quest

Kickoff slot

Early

Lots open before breakfast.

Lots open

8:00 AM

Local time on game day.

Where to stay

In the city

Tailgate from 8:00 AM, then the game.

The matchup

Form, ESPN's model and the stat leaders
Form

The Steelers are 2-2 after 4 games, 4th in the AFC North.

They are 0-2 on the road.

The Ravens are 2-1 after 3 games, 2nd in the AFC North.

They are 0-1 at home.

What we know about M&T Bank Stadium

Where visiting fans stay

From a specialist guide
  • Inner Harbor / Downtown Convention Center. 20 min by walk. This is the one Northeast stadium where staying in the tourist heart of the city means staying near the stadium too. Among the hotels within about half a mile are the Hampton Inn Baltimore Downtown Convention Center at 0.4 miles and the Vacation Inn Express at the Stadiums at 0.5 miles. You get the National Aquarium and Maryland Science Center right outside your door, and the walk to the stadium is about a mile or less. There is no trade-off to make.
  • Federal Hill. 15 min. walk, or the free GEICO Gameday Shuttle. This area sits immediately southeast of the stadium and it is the best bar neighborhood for game day. It has its own Light RailLink stop, Stadium/Federal Hill, and it is one of the pickup points for the free GEICO Gameday Shuttle to the North and South gates. It is rowhouse-scale, walkable, and has a lot more atmosphere than the Inner Harbor hotel strip.
  • Washington Boulevard / Camden Yards north. 12 min by walk. The sports bars are concentrated on one block of Washington Street behind left field at Camden Yards, about half a mile north of the stadium. If you stay nearby, your pre-game is just a walk, not a journey.

Around the stadium

From a specialist guide
Downtown Baltimore, Inner Harbor, Federal Hill. This stadium is genuinely built into downtown, not just a parking lot with a bus stop. You'll find multiple chain and full-service hotels within half a mile, the Inner Harbor tourist district about a mile away, the Washington Street bar block half a mile north, and Federal Hill just southeast. A fan can land at BWI, ride one train, check in, walk to the stadium, and walk back.

Getting in from the airport

Checked at the source
BWI, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall. It takes 25 minutes via MTA Light RailLink direct from the BWI Airport station to Hamburg Street, the stadium stop, about 24 minutes end to end, for $2.00 one way or $4.60 for a day pass.

Getting to the stadium

Checked at the source
MTA Light RailLink, about 24 min. Hamburg Street station sits on the stadium's east side, a short walk to the gates. The Stadium/Federal Hill and Camden Yards stops are also within easy walking distance. Walk from the Inner Harbor, about 20 min. It's about a mile on flat streets through the stadium district. MARC Penn Line (commuter rail from Washington DC). Baltimore Penn Station is about 2 miles north, so connect by Light RailLink or the MARC shuttle bus. Camden Station is a short walk from the stadium. GEICO Gameday Shuttle. It drops you at H Lot and the North and South gate entrances.

Tailgating

Checked at the source
This is the best carless pre-game option in the group. RavensWalk is a free street festival open to everyone, no ticket needed, set up on the walkway between M&T Bank Stadium and Oriole Park at Camden Yards, between Lots B and C. It opens three hours before every home game with bars, food trucks, live entertainment, and tailgate activities. If you walk down from the Inner Harbor, you land right in the middle of it. Tailgating in the lots also happens, but it's car-based and most lots are permit-only and sold in advance, so RavensWalk is the option if you're on foot. You can join a lot tailgate as a guest if you're meeting friends who already paid for a spot and have a car parked there, but there's no walk-up entry to the lots on your own. RavensWalk is free, and you don't need a game ticket to attend. It opens three hours before kickoff.

Getting in

Checked at the source
  • Bag policy: Only certain bags are allowed: clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC bags no bigger than 12 inches by 6 inches by 12 inches, or a one-gallon clear plastic freezer bag like a Ziploc, or a small clutch bag no bigger than 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches. Backpacks, larger purses, and most other containers are not allowed. The stadium and team pages don't list any named exception for medical bags, diaper bags, cameras, or breast pumps.
  • Re-entry: Re-entry into M&T Bank Stadium is not permitted, and that's unchanged for 2026 across both the stadium A-Z guide and the Ravens Fan Guide. One thing that is not an exception to this: inside the building, if you leave the Club Level, you need a Club Level re-entry pass to get back in, along with your Club Level game ticket. That's an internal zone pass, not permission to leave the stadium and return.
  • Prohibited items: Umbrellas of any kind are not allowed, so bring a poncho instead. Also not allowed: video cameras, still cameras with a lens longer than 3 inches, e-cigarettes and other alternative smoking products, poles or sticks attached to banners or flags, outside food and drinks, and emotional support animals. Only service dogs are permitted.

Touring the stadium

Checked at the source
Stadium tours are available, and this is the strongest tour offering of the five. M&T Bank Stadium introduced a paid Gameday Tour for the 2026 season: $100 per person, 45 to 60 minutes long, and you need a valid game ticket bought separately. It starts about 15 minutes after the North Plaza Gate opens, which is an hour before the standard stadium gates, so you get inside before the general crowd. This is new for the 2026 season. There are three tours: Purple, Gold, and Platinum. They run year-round, Monday through Saturday, depending on the event schedule, so the Saturday before a Sunday home game is usually open for booking. You can book up to 3 months ahead, and sell-out risk is moderate. The Purple Tour is $20 and runs 60 to 90 minutes, the Gold Tour is $40 and runs 90 to 120 minutes, and the Platinum Tour is $65 and runs 150 to 180 minutes. Public tours run with about 10 to 20 guests per slot. For groups over 25, email [email protected]. More info at https://www.mandtbankstadium.com/visit/tours.

After the final whistle

From a specialist guide
It takes 20 to 40 minutes. The walkable options here make getting away easy for a fan without a car: walk north to the Inner Harbor or east to Federal Hill and you're clear of the crowd in 15 minutes. Light RailLink at Hamburg Street gets lines after the final whistle, but the two-stop hop to Camden or Federal Hill is short. The extra game-day capacity MTA adds for a routine Sunday is Light Rail extended service and shuttle buses from Pratt and Howard Streets to Penn Station, not extra MARC service. MARC's one known extra Sunday train was a one-off for the January 2024 AFC Championship, not routine. There's no documented gridlock problem for people walking out. Keep in mind re-entry to the stadium is not allowed.

One thing to avoid

From a specialist guide
Don't book near BWI airport just because the light rail goes there. You'd be trading a walkable downtown stay for an airport hotel strip and saving nothing. Also skip booking in a park-and-ride suburb: the Ravens' park-and-ride passes are $300 to $350 season products aimed at locals, not visitors.

Bars near the stadium

Checked at the source

  • Pickles Pub

    520 Washington Blvd, Baltimore, MD 21230

    Pickles opened on St. Patrick's Day in 1988, four years before Camden Yards was built next door and eight years before the Ravens existed.

    Away fans: the crowd is mixed, with a lot of visiting-team support year-round carried over from baseball games.

  • Gameday Firehouse

    1202 Ridgely St, Baltimore, MD 21230

    This is a restored historic firehouse turned gameday bar, and the firefighter connection is real: part of every purchase goes to the Widows and Orphans Fund for families of fallen firefighters, and the bar says it has raised $82,634 so far. Doors open at 9 a.m.

    Away fans: mostly home fans.

  • Pratt Street Ale House

    206 W Pratt St, Baltimore, MD 21201

    It opened in 1993 as the Wharf Rat, home of Oliver Brewing, one of Baltimore's first microbreweries, and it's been a pre-game stop since the 1990s. Oliver beer isn't brewed on site anymore, but the group still owns both the pub and the Oliver label, so the Oliver taps here are the real thing, not just a licensing deal.

    Away fans: the crowd is welcoming and mixed. It's the most comfortable spot in the district if you're wearing the wrong team's colors.

What to eat

The local food this city is known for: crab cakes, pit beef and Old Bay.

Inside the stadium, 2026 season

  • The Dueling Dog is a footlong topped half with pit beef and half with Old Bay crab dip; the season of that report is not confirmed. Reported, not confirmed by the stadium. Source

Stand line-ups change every season.

Sidequests in Baltimore

Listed in the order they happen. Each one earns points.

  1. Eat65 points

    Crab cake at Faidley's in Lexington Market

    Faidley's serves a jumbo lump crab cake you eat standing at tables inside Lexington Market, about a mile north of the stadium. It's open Monday to Saturday from 10 AM and closed Sunday, so plan to go the day before.

    $$. The day before

  2. Tour100 points

    M&T Bank Stadium tour

    M&T Bank Stadium runs public tours Monday to Saturday around the event calendar, starting from the Southeast Suite Entrance by Lots D and E. Purple tours run $20, Gold $40, Platinum $65, and there's a new $100 gameday tour that requires a game ticket.

    $$. The day before. Bookable

  3. Eat65 points

    Pit beef sandwich at Chaps

    Chaps is Baltimore's pit beef stand out on Pulaski Highway east of downtown, open daily from 10:30 AM, slicing charcoal-roasted beef thin on a roll. You'll need a car or rideshare to get there from the stadium.

    $. The day before

  4. Landmark65 points

    Federal Hill Park lookout

    Federal Hill Park sits on the hill south of the Inner Harbor, with views north across the water to the downtown skyline. It has a playground, benches, and Flag Staff Plaza, it's free, and it's a walk from the Federal Hill bars.

    Free. The day before

  5. Drink25 points

    Todd Conner's, the Steelers bar in Fells Point

    Todd Conner's is a corner pub on South Broadway that the Baltimore Sun calls the spot where visiting Steelers fans gather. The same list points to Fells Point and Federal Hill bars for Eagles, Bills, Patriots, and Browns fans.

    $$. 18 hours before kickoff

  6. Eat65 points

    Captain Crunch French toast at Blue Moon Cafe

    Blue Moon Cafe has been serving breakfast in Fells Point since 1996 and is known for its Captain Crunch French toast and crab benedicts. It's open daily 7 AM to 3 PM, runs 24 hours on weekends, and you should expect a wait Sunday morning.

    $$. 5 hours before kickoff

  7. Outing40 points

    Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum

    The Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum is the rowhouse where Ruth was born in 1895, two blocks from Camden Yards and close to the stadium. It's open daily 10 AM to 5 PM, with $15 for adults, $7 for ages 5 to 16, and free under 5.

    $. 4 hours before kickoff

  8. Drink25 points

    Federal Hill before the game

    These are the neighborhood bars up the hill from the harbor, about a 15 minute walk to the stadium.

    $$. 3 hours before kickoff

  9. Drink25 points

    Pickles Pub across from Camden Yards

    Pickles Pub has been open since 1988 on Washington Boulevard, right across from Oriole Park and a short walk to the stadium. The crab pretzel is the dish to get, and the kitchen opens at 9 AM on Sunday game days.

    $$. 3 hours before kickoff

  10. Tailgate65 points

    RavensWalk between Camden Yards and the stadium

    RavensWalk is the pregame strip on the walkway from Oriole Park to M&T Bank Stadium, between Lots B and C, with bars, food trucks, a 98 Rock broadcast, and cheerleaders out 90 minutes before kickoff. It runs from 9 AM to noon.

    $. 3 hours before kickoff

  11. Landmark65 points

    North Plaza and The Talon

    The rebuilt north entrance plaza opens three hours before kickoff with an open-air stage venue holding 2,000 to 3,000 people, an indoor sports bar, The Landing rooftop, and the Flock Shop. You enter after scanning your ticket.

    $. 2 hours 30 minutes before kickoff

  12. Photo25 points

    Johnny Unitas and Ray Lewis statues

    The bronze statues of Johnny Unitas and Ray Lewis, the latter in his pregame dance pose, were both made by Frederick Kail. The team says they'll return to the North Plaza near Gate A after the 2026 renovation, so confirm before you go.

    Free. 2 hours before kickoff

  13. Ritual25 points

    Marching Ravens concert on Eutaw Street

    The team's marching band plays the Eutaw Street walkway at Camden Yards 90 minutes before kickoff, then parades through RavensWalk an hour before. Wear white for the Uprising and get seated 30 minutes early.

    Free. 1 hour 30 minutes before kickoff

Seats and views

Where each part of M&T Bank Stadium sits, and what you see from it.

What kind of game day do you want?

Pick one and Scout shows you where to sit.

Lower level, end zoneLower level, corner, home sideLower level, home sidelineLower level, corner, home sideLower level, end zoneLower level, corner, visitor sideLower level, visitor sidelineLower level, corner, visitor sideClub level, end zoneClub level, corner, home sideClub level, home sidelineClub level, corner, home sideClub level, end zoneClub level, corner, visitor sideClub level, visitor sidelineClub level, corner, visitor sideUpper level, end zoneUpper level, corner, home sideUpper level, home sidelineUpper level, corner, home sideUpper level, end zoneUpper level, corner, visitor sideUpper level, visitor sidelineUpper level, corner, visitor sideHomeVisitors
Lower level100 to 153Club level200 to 253Upper level500 to 553Tap any part of the stadium to see its view.