Yes, you can hang a poster of your favorite sports team to show your pride in being their longtime supporter. Chances are, the only one appreciating that is you because, you know, sports memorabilia tend to be on the campy side of the spectrum. Simply put, it’s not the kind of thing the wife will be happy seeing on the wall of her meticulously-decorated living room. You need something much classier if you’re going to get the wife to give in – something like these gorgeous creations from Stadium Map Art.
A satellite map rendering of celebrated stadiums and their surrounding cities, the framed pieces recreate each cartographic scene in laser-cut wood. As such, the darn things look more like gorgeous pieces of etched art than actual sports memorabilia, allowing you to celebrate your favorite team without making your grown-up home look like a college apartment all over again. Not that there’s anything wrong that, but, hey, we all have to grow up at some point.
The Stadium Map Art showcases the stadium by making it a three-dimensional relief while the rest of the map stays flat, ensuring it will be the first thing that catches your eye whenever you look at the framed piece. According to the outfit, each one is digitally modeled from zoomed-in satellite imagery (they, basically, turn the picture into a vector using Corel Draw), so the entire map is an accurate representation of the stadium’s actual surroundings from an aerial vantage. Since everything is laser-cut, every highway, interstate, and waterway on the render is scaled to precision, with none of the imperfections you would get on hand-cut equivalents.
Each of the pieces is laser-cut from Baltic birch wood, giving the creation a refined feel that you probably wouldn’t get if it was cut in cardboard or similar materials. Simply put, you can hang this next to a nice painting or a beautiful sculpture without having it look out of place, making it a suitable decorative option for any shared space in the house. Finally, sports memorabilia that you’re not stuck having to keep in the garage (or, if you’re lucky, the man-cave).
Two sizes of Stadium Map Art are available: 12 x 18 inches and 12 x 12 inches, for those who prefer their framed displays in a square orientation. They offer a healthy amount of choices for anyone interested, as they currently have digital models for 120 different stadiums from 36 different states, along with 11 options in detailed city maps, so there’s a good chance the home of your favorite MLB, NFL, NBA, or NCAA team is in there somewhere. They also seem to be adding new maps frequently, so if you’re looking for something not yet offered, it’s likely to be on tap at some point down the line. Do note, the city maps are definitely more detailed and more complex than the state stadium maps, although both have their individual merits that, we’re sure, sports fans can appreciate.
Available now, pricing for the Stadium Map Art starts at $125.