Unique 360 Tours Blog

A couple weeks ago, I had a post about Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium. However, I never really dug into the Football Team. Maryland Football is BIG in this area and the players are hailed as celebrities on campus. Now the that football season is kicking into gear, I thought I would dive into some of the football player perks that we discovered while shooting the Virtual Tours for University of Maryland.

First off, let’s give a hand to the elephant in the room. Literally. These guys have their own dining hall. Not just a dining area or dining room. I’m talking dining hall. A huge room that overlooks the stadium and is laden with UMD football legends and terps paraphernalia. Now, just so you understand, this is not like an annex of other dining halls. This is the football team’s dining hall and no one else is allowed to use it. Right outside the doors is the Terp Football Hall of Fame. The best part, we found out that the food that gets served there is ridiculous. For guys that burn in excess of 5,000 calories a day… that food better be good.

Second, let’s move to their weight room. Located just below the Dining Hall and next to their locker room. This place is big. Best part about this locker room are the stats that line the walls. Marked out my position (QB,RB,K,LB, etc) it shows the top 10 (or so) records of most weight lifted by player. Bench Press, Squat, Dead Lift, etc were all itemized out and the record holders name and year were included. Needless to say, after seeing those stats, I won’t be picking any fights with any Terp Football players….maybe a kicker.

Finally, the 50 yard line. It was just cool to stand there and look around. I felt like I should flip some coins. Players were running sprints and getting ready for a practice on the sidelines. Grounds crews were getting the field into game-day condition. So, we had to carefully shoot the Virtual Tour and make some edits afterwards. I dive into more detail about this Virtual Tour and the Football Locker Room in the PART II of this series.

All for now. I have to dart off to a meeting with a new client. Enjoy the weekend. Happy Footballing. Here is the Virtual Tour. Be sure to check out the Skybox, too.

So, I printed out all of the Wroxeter blog posts and comments.  I wrote up a one-page letter (with our snazzy new letterhead) and explained the entire situation.  Stuck it all in an envelope and dropped it off at Wroxeter.  No more than 5 hours later, I get a call from the owner.  Unfortunately, when she called, Chris and I were tearing up on the tennis court.  For the record, we’ve been playing tennis aggressivly for the past month or so and are getting really good.  I’m talking Federer good.  So, I took the call and she was extremely excited about all of the information and feedback that has been brought up over the past few weeks.  Needless to say, we’ve had a couple conversations over the past 48 hours and will be scheduling the Virtual Tour shortly.  Very exciting, stuff.

Thanks to everyone that helped accomplish this.  I really do appreciate it.  

Hope everyone had a nice weekend.  Weather was great here in Annapolis.  My weekend consisted of boating on Saturday and golfing on Sunday.  Hard to beat.

Anyhow, we decided to take a trip down the Severn River to check out Wroxeter.  I took some picures with my phone and wanted to share them with everyone.   (Sorry for the oversized images.  I know they are outside the lines, but want to give you a close look.)

Also, I learned that the property consists of primarily a large square… which means it extends way back into those woods. There is/was all sorts of courtyards in the back.   For the record, I have not factored out the “this place is haunted” concept.

Will be working on shooting the Virtual Tour this week and will keep everyone posted.  Until then, I’ll be posting some other Virtual Tour related stuff… so check back often.

Also, check out the thread going on over at Laxpower.com…  CLICK HERE

(UPDATE AUGUST 4th @ 4:26pm - Make sure you read the comments from Wroxeter Alumni in the comments section of this post.  Good Stuff. ) 

First, thanks to everyone who participated, whether it was commenting on the blog… posting Facebook messages… sending emails… and the several locations that I received over the weekend including the Whitehall Estate.  I appreciate all the contributions. 

 I was looking for the most creative and unique location and I think it must go to Ken who submitted the request to shoot a Virtual Tour for the “Wroxeter on the Severn.”  Growing up in Annapolis, I had always heard about this place… but always imagined it as an abandoned mansion covered in ivy with overgrown surroundings.  I was completely wrong. 

The Wroxeter on the Severn is a 33-room Mansion that is located on the hills of the Severn River, pretty much across the river from Sherwood Forest.  It served as a Prep School back in the 70’s-80’s until it was shut down.  It was known for producing some of the area’s top lacrosse players that went on to revolutionize the sport.  Anyhow, if you’re reading this and went to the school… know about the school… or just want to share some input… click on the comment section below.  Or you can email me at John@unique360tours.com and I will post any info that you want to share.

You can also read more about the place on the post below.  Ken Slunch shared some great info. 

Next step is going to be trying to get a hold of the owner.  I will keep everyone posted, so check back here often.  If you are the owner or alumni that has some information, click on the contact section located on the right side of this page. 

I think my first step is going to be contacting this Facebook group.  Hopefully they will be able to give us a much better look at how it was to go to this Historic Annapolis Landmark.  Feel free to share. 

I’m excited to shoot this Virtual Tour.

Ahh, the infamous Byrd Stadium.  Growing up, Byrd Stadium was a fixture in NCAA Lacrosse Championships and my childhood.  Now, M&T Bank Stadium is the go-to.  I guess you could say that this is where lacrosse got it’s start.  Remember the days when Paul and Gary Gait dominated the league?  Those guys are were the coolest.

Anyhow, enough reminiscing, and onto the Virtual Tours…

We shot several Virtual Tours for Byrd Stadium, as the place in enormous.  The day we shot the field was pretty crazy, since they wanted the Virtual Tour to be done under Football gameday conditions.  That means all the lines are painted, endzones are prepped, players are on-site getting ready, press is walking around, and so forth.  So shooting the 50-yard line was a cool sight and the only obstacle was all the people walking around.  Too many people to ask to kindly step inside for a few minutes.  Anyhow, if you look closely enough you may find some players warming up and stats people getting ready.

The craziest shot was inside the Terps locker room.  When we walked in, we had to clear the room of everyone inside.  Not sure if you realize it, but there’s alot that goes on in the hours before a big game.  Players jerseys are getting hung in their lockers, shoes being laid out, coaches walking around, trainers walking around, players hanging out, players getting wrapped up, and just alot going on.  So we had some UMD arsenal with us and our contact was able to clear the room to shoot the Virtual Tour.  Also, not sure if you realize it, but see those double doors straight ahead?  They lead directly to the field behind one of the endzones.  So when players head out to the field… they’ll slap the WIN painted over the door frame, run through the doors, enter a tunnel, rub Testudo the Terrapin’s shell (see below), and run onto the field under the goalpost.

Pretty motivating stuff.  It makes me want to watch Rudy, again.  This time everyone will just be chanting… Gibbs…Gibbs…Gibbs…Gibbs.

All for now, here is the Virtual Tour if you have not seen it already.  There were a ton of other locations we shot for Byrd Stadium, so be on the lookout for more posts shortly.  Click the images blow for the Virtual Tour!

What costs over $125 million to build, seats nearly 18,000 people, and was ranked the 7th toughest venue to play at by EA Sports… that’s right, the Unique 360 Tours offices.  Actually that’s not “exactly” true, we were ranked somewhere  closer to a baker’s dozen.  Anyhow, the real answer is the notorious Comcast Center aka “The House that Gary Williams Built.”

This place is massive and it’s only proper that it was showcased properly with our 360 Virtual Tours.  This was one of our first Virtual Tours for the University of Maryland and it was quite the sight.  Not only are we talking center court of the basketball arena… but we’re talking both Men’s and Women’s Basketball Locker Rooms… and their private Lounges.  We’re talking multiple fitness facilities for with a private room for the wresting teams, a private lifting facility, volleyball gameday setups, gymnastic setups, and a bunch of other stunning behind the scenes peek of the largest and most popular college sports programs on the East Coast. 

Here’s a picture of Chris shooting the Virtual Tour at Center Court of the Basketball Arena:

A couple days later, here’s a video clip of the Terp fans celebrating a win over their rival, the Duke Blue Devils: 

Pretty crazy stuff.  But enough with all this still photography and shaky amateur video nonsense.  You people want the good stuff, right.  You want to see what happens behind the scenes.  Check out where the players practice, train, study, hang out, and rest up.  You want to see where Coach Gary Williams sits when he’s watching film and drawing up plays.  You want to see where famous athletes, such as Juan Dixon, Greivis Vasquez, Steve Francis, and Len Bias got their start.  Okay.  Check it out by going to:  www.unique360tours.com/comcastcenter

Keep checking in here for more posts.  I’m trying to post AT LEAST once a day.  And if you’re reading… let me know… and post a comment below.  We’d love to hear from you!

That’s right.  If you have not already heard, we are the Official 360° Virtual Tour provider for the University of Maryland, College Park and their Athletic Program. 

We recently wrapped up a project that involves shooting Virtual Tours for ALL of their Athletic Facilities!  Over the next week or so, I’m going to be giving you an inside look at all the behind-the-scenes action that goes on at the University of Maryland.  I’m going to show you where the Men’s Basketball team studies film, show you where Coach Gary Williams draws up his plays, show you where the Coach Ralph “The Fridge” Friedgen works out, and a look at the Football Team’s PRIVATE dining hall!  We’ll even go into detail about the Virtual Tours we shot for their practice fields, swimming pools, and even the golf course.

Be on the lookout and check back often.  Also, are there any College Park Alumni reading this post?  If so, show some love and comment on this post. 

If you’re not a UMD Alumni… where’d you go and why are you better??? Does your school have VIRTUAL TOURS!!! 

Just a little snippet from the University of Maryland’s Website talking about Unique 360 Tours…  By the way, I love the graphic/headline they ran on their homepage a couple weeks back.  See Below and Click it to read the article