Sports

The Maryland area is home to several professional sports teams and more than a dozen nationally competitive college-level sports teams.

Fans of professional sports can enjoy Baltimore Orioles baseball at the popular Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the Baltimore Ravens football at M&T Bank Stadium. The Washington Redskins, another NFL franchise, play at FedEx Field in Landover. Other professional sports teams include the Baltimore Blast (Major Indoor Soccer League), the nearby Washington Wizards (National Basketball Association), and Washington Capitals (National Hockey League).

College and minor league sports are well represented. The state is home to the University of Maryland Terrapins, the 2002 NCAA men’s Division 1 basketball champions and the 2006 NCAA women's Division 1 basketball champions.

Baseball

The Baltimore Orioles major league baseball team competes in the American League East Division. The team plays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the nation's first retro-styled stadium built to recall early baseball parks. Located in downtown Baltimore, the stadium opened in 1992 with a seating capacity of 48,876 people. Adjoining buildings include the Orioles' offices, shops, and restaurants. Maryland has five minor league teams, four of which are affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles. A sixth team plays in an independent league.

The Aberdeen Ironbirds is a Class A team which joined the New York-Penn League in 2002. The team is owned by a group headed by former Baltimore Oriole Cal Ripken, Jr. Home games are played at the new Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen.
The Bowie Baysox minor league baseball team is the Baltimore Orioles' only Class AA affiliate, competing in the Eastern League. The team plays at Prince George's Stadium in Bowie, which opened in 1994.
The Delmarva Shorebirds debuted in the Class A South Atlantic League in 1996. The team plays at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury.
The Frederick Keys team was established in 1989. It competes in the Class A Carolina League and plays at Harry Grove Stadium, which opened in 1990.
The Hagerstown Suns have been part of the Class A South Atlantic League since 1993. They play in Hagerstown at Municipal Stadium, built in 1931. The Suns are an affiliate of the New York Mets.
The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs is Maryland’s newest professional baseball team, having joined the Atlantic League in 2008. The Atlantic League is independent and not affiliated with the major or minor leagues. The Blue Crabs will play their home games in the newly constructed Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf.

Football

The Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League debuted in the 1996 season at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. In 1998, a 70,008-seat stadium was completed to host the team. M&T Bank Stadium is part of Baltimore's Camden Yards sports complex.

The Washington Redskins National Football League team plays at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. The stadium opened in 1997 and seats 80,116 people.

The Baltimore Mariners began play in the American Indoor Football Association in 2008, replacing the Baltimore Blackbirds. They play their home games at the 1^st Mariner Arena.

The Baltimore Burn debuted in April 2001 with nine other teams in the National Women's Football League. Now known as the National Women's Football Association, the league has grown to 37 teams in 24 states. The Burn plays home games at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County.

Maryland has two Division I-A college football teams. The University of Maryland Terrapins compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference, with home games played in Byrd Stadium in College Park. The U.S. Naval Academy is an independent, non-conference team. Navy football is played at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.

Basketball

The University of Maryland, College Park competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The men’s basketball team won the Division 1 national championship game in 2002 by defeating Indiana University. Four years later in 2006 the women's basketball team captured the Division 1 title, defeating Duke University. Both teams play in the new Comcast Center. Other schools with Division 1 basketball programs are Coppin State University, Loyola College in Maryland, University of Maryland Baltimore County, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, the U.S. Naval Academy, and Towson University. In nearby Washington, D.C., the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association play at the Verizon Center.

Golf

Maryland is home to nearly 200 public, private, and semiprivate golf courses located throughout the state.

The PGA men's Champions Tour (formerly Senior Tour) features one of five "majors" on the tour, the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship, which moved to the Baltimore Country Club in Timonium for 2007.
The legendary Congressional Country Club now hosts the AT&T National on the PGA men's tour, having relocated there in 2007. Located in Bethesda, the Congressional previously hosted the 2005 Booz Allen Classic and the 1997 men's U.S. Open. Future tournaments there will include the 2009 U.S. Amateur Championship and the 2011 men's U.S. Open.
In 2005, the women's McDonald's LPGA Championship relocated to the Bulle Rock golf course in Havre de Grace, Harford County. Bulle Rock is one of only 17 courses in the country to receive a Five Star rating by Golf Digest.
The Tournament Players Club at Avenel in nearby Potomac hosted the final Booz Allen Classic in 2006.
The 2002 PGA men’s Senior Open Championship was held at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Baltimore County.
The U.S. Junior Amateur Championships were held at the Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase in 2003.
Other nationally renowned courses include Eagle’s Landing, Hog Neck, Harbortowne, Queenstown Harbor Golf Links, and Swan Point.

Horse racing

Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore hosts the Preakness Stakes, one of three Thoroughbred horse races that comprise the world famous Triple Crown. The race is held on the third Saturday in May.

Throughout the year, thoroughbred races are held at Laurel Park and at Timonium Race Course in conjunction with the Maryland State Fair. Harness racing takes place at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington and Ocean Downs in Berlin.

Lacrosse

Several Maryland colleges and universities have Division 1 men’s lacrosse teams, including 2007 champion Johns Hopkins University, Loyola College of Maryland, University of Maryland Baltimore County, University of Maryland College Park, Mount St. Mary’s College, Towson University, and the U.S. Naval Academy. The NCAA men's lacrosse championships were held at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium in 2004 and again in 2007.

The International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations hosted the women's World Cup in 2005 at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, the first time since 1986 that the event took place in the U.S.

Lacrosse was designated as Maryland's official state team sport in 2004.

Sailing

In the Chesapeake Bay area, boating is a favorite pastime. Annapolis is known as America's sailing capital. In 2002, Baltimore and Annapolis were a stopover in the Volvo Ocean Race , a grueling nine-month sailboat race around the world. The race returned to Maryland in 2006, one of only two U.S. stopovers.

Soccer

The Baltimore Blast joined the National Professional Soccer League as the Baltimore Spirit in 1992 but changed names in 1998 with new ownership. Now part of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), the Blast plays at the 1^st Mariner Arena. The Blast won the MISL Championship in 2007-08, the fourth championship over a six year period.