Raymond Littleton – Baltimore Ravens

Raymond Littleton, director of facilities operations for the Baltimore Ravens, brings both a deep sense of purpose and hometown pride to his role overseeing every inch of the team’s state-of-the-art headquarters, the Under Armour Performance Center. Known within the organization as “The Castle,” the sprawling facility in Owings Mills, Maryland, is where the grind behind every gameday victory begins. For Littleton, who grew up in Baltimore and spent more than 20 years in healthcare facilities management at Johns Hopkins, the job is about much more than fixing systems or managing construction—it’s about creating an elite environment where players and coaches can thrive.

The Baltimore Ravens, a franchise celebrated for its grit, innovation, and two Super Bowl victories, have built a reputation as one of the NFL’s most well-run organizations. The Castle is central to that success, serving as the year-round home base for team operations, training, and player development. It’s a space designed not just for function, but for fueling a culture of excellence.

Littleton leads a small but competent team—comprising three direct reports—responsible for all mechanical, electrical, and structural aspects within the facility. That includes managing contracts for housekeeping and cleaning, overseeing all construction projects, and ensuring every system runs at peak performance.

“Anything to do with the physical infrastructure is mine,” he says.

That ownership mentality means every upgrade, every repair, and every improvement is viewed through one lens: will this help the Ravens win football games?

A $30 million play for player success

Littleton’s commitment to that mission is perhaps best exemplified in the $30 million upgrade recently completed at The Castle. Launched in February 2025 and completed in time for training camp, the project focuses on creating the best possible environment for players to prepare, train, and recover.

Key improvements include a significantly expanded training room, giving athletic trainers more space and better resources to care for players. The hydrotherapy area has been transformed, now boasting multiple hot and cold tubs alongside a new lap pool—changes that dramatically increase accessibility and allow more athletes to recover simultaneously. Player meeting rooms were also enlarged to accommodate full position groups more effectively, fostering better communication and reinforcing the Ravens’ “team-first” mindset.

Although Littleton wasn’t involved in the original design phase, his influence has been felt in every detail since construction began. He met with contractors daily, ensuring the work aligned with the organization’s high standards.

“The whole idea is to get ahead of the systems,” he explains. “I want to make it so the environment can’t break down.”

The renovations also dovetail with his efforts to move the facility from a reactive maintenance model to a proactive one. Littleton is spearheading a retro commissioning project and an ASHRAE Level 2 energy audit aimed at improving efficiency, extending equipment life, and building a sustainable operations model.

“I want to be able to give our finance team a 5- to 10-year plan,” he says. “The audit will help us save money and do better in terms of being sustainable into the future.”

From hospital halls to NFL hallways

Transitioning from healthcare to the NFL has been eye-opening for Littleton. At Johns Hopkins, where he spent most of his career, the stakes were measured in lives. “I had more pressure at the hospital,” he recalls.

“If I messed up something there, people could die.” In a hospital setting, systems like generators are treated as life-safety equipment—a philosophy he’s carried into The Castle. “Even though I work for an NFL team, I treat this place like a hospital,” he says. “We go above and beyond what we need to do.”

Still, the differences are clear. In sports, the goal is to create an environment where players can prepare to win—not to meet patient care standards. It means tuning every decision toward performance, recovery, and team cohesion. It also means operating in a world where fan excitement and media attention swirl constantly around the workplace.

For a lifelong Ravens fan, that’s been one of the biggest adjustments.

“It’s hard not to see Lamar Jackson or Derrick Henry for the first time and not want to run up and shake their hand,” he admits. But his role demands professionalism over fandom.“ At the end of the day, our goal is not to be on ESPN,” he says. “It’s to create the best environment for winning football games.”

A career built on hard work & opportunity

Littleton’s path to The Castle began with a very different kind of construction. After graduating from high school, he pursued a career in mechanical engineering while working as a roofer to support his education. His grandfather, who was still roofing at age 73, inspired him to seek a career with better long-term security. In 2004, an opportunity at Johns Hopkins shifted his trajectory.

He initially left college to work full-time, but with encouragement from his Hopkins supervisors, he earned multiple facility licenses and eventually a business degree from the University of Maryland Global Campus. Over two decades, he rose through the ranks, including serving as assistant director of facilities for Howard County General Hospital.

That well-rounded background gave him the skills to manage complex systems, read blueprints, develop RFPs, and build budgets—skills that translate directly to managing an NFL facility.

“Facilities management carries over no matter where you are,” he says. “The nuances depend on the organization, but the core is the same.”

Now, at the Ravens, he’s applying those skills to a setting that blends high performance with high visibility. The work doesn’t slow down after training camp or the regular season; The Castle is a year-round operation, with renovations, maintenance, and upgrades happening alongside team activities.

“You want engaged players and employees,” Littleton says. “That means creating an environment where they want to be here.”

Looking ahead, Littleton envisions further improvements: expanding the weight room, enlarging the kitchen to meet players’ nutritional needs, and continuously monitoring what other NFL teams are doing to stay competitive.

“If another team does something, we want to know about it,” he says.

For Littleton, the job is a blend of precision, planning, and passion. Whether it’s leading a multimillion-dollar renovation or ensuring the backup power system runs flawlessly, he sees his work as part of the Ravens’ larger mission—to win games, serve fans and be a positive force in the community.

And while it may be challenging at times to separate his love for the team from his responsibilities, he knows his role is about more than fandom. It’s about making sure every detail behind the scenes supports success on the field. In his own way, Littleton is helping the Ravens stay ready for their next championship run—brick by brick, system by system, inside the walls of The Castle.