Baltimore Ravens Install Thermory Sauna at Under Armour Performance Center
The NFL franchise's new recovery facility features a custom Thermory thermo-magnolia sauna designed by ZGF Architects, and it just won a design award.
When the Baltimore Ravens renovated their Under Armour Performance Center, the recovery facilities got a serious upgrade. The centerpiece: a custom sauna built with Thermory thermo-magnolia wood, designed by ZGF Architects, one of the largest architecture firms in the U.S.
The project won Best Sauna & Spa at the Thermory Design Awards 2025, which drew 74 submissions from 21 countries across four categories.
The Design
ZGF used a custom thermo-magnolia C4J profile for the ceiling (installed with GRAD clips) and thermo-magnolia STS10 for the sauna walls and benches. The jury described the result as "immersive and sensory" with "clean, refined detailing" and praised the natural lighting integration.
Thermo-magnolia is one of Thermory's newer wood species for sauna applications, prized for its smooth grain, light color, and stability in high-heat environments. It's becoming a go-to for commercial and institutional projects where aesthetics matter as much as durability.
Pro Sports and Sauna
The Ravens project is part of a broader trend of professional sports teams investing in dedicated sauna and cold plunge facilities as part of their recovery infrastructure. Heat therapy has strong clinical backing for muscle recovery, inflammation reduction, and cardiovascular conditioning. For NFL teams with multimillion-dollar rosters, the ROI on a well-built sauna is straightforward.
The fact that the Ravens chose Thermory's premium material and hired ZGF (not a low-budget move) suggests that pro sports teams aren't just adding saunas as afterthoughts. They're treating them as serious design and performance investments.
Sofia Mäkelä
European Correspondent & Sauna Industry Analyst
Sofia Mäkelä reports on the European sauna manufacturing industry and Nordic wellness culture from Helsinki, Finland.
Full byline
Sofia Mäkelä is a European Correspondent for SaunaNews.com, covering the sauna manufacturing industry, Nordic wellness culture, and the companies shaping the global thermal bathing market from her home base in Helsinki, Finland.
Born and raised in Helsinki, Sofia grew up in a country where saunas outnumber cars and weekly bathing is a way of life rather than a luxury. That upbringing gave her a native fluency in sauna culture that informs everything she writes. She studied journalism at the University of Helsinki before spending several years covering the Baltic timber and building materials industries for trade publications across Scandinavia and the Baltics.
Sofia's reporting focuses on the European manufacturers, from Estonian powerhouses like Thermory and Auroom to Finnish and German brands, that are supplying the global wellness boom. She tracks ownership changes, factory expansions, new product lines, and the export strategies that are bringing European sauna engineering to North America, Asia, and the Middle East.
When she is not visiting factories in Estonia or attending trade shows in Cologne, Sofia can be found at one of Helsinki's many public saunas or cross-country skiing in the forests outside the city.
