Rubber Bowl, 2002 Credit: USGS
As reported by the Akron Beacon Journal, city leaders in Akron have begun openly calling for the demolition of the Rubber Bowl, once the home of the University of Akron football team. The stadium stands bleacherless and abandoned near the airport in southeast Akron.

“I’d like to see it come down,” Mayor Dan Horrigan told the ABJ. “I don’t see what purpose it serves right now.”

Indeed, the stadium was purchased by Team 1 Marketing Group three years ago (total cost: $38,000). Plans for a revitalized home for football, concerts and major events never came to fruition. 

There were plans for a major hip-hop concert last year, but the event was shifted to Cleveland due to concerns about the condition of the facility.

The structural soundness of the stadium is unclear. The press box looks like it might topple due to all the vandalism.

The bleachers are strewn about in piles. Manhole covers are missing, leaving gaping, deep holes throughout.

The only portion of the stadium that appears in good condition is the field itself.

The green artificial turf is still spongy to the touch. But someone has tried to rip up the Zippy logo at the 50-yard line and the “A” in Akron in one end zone has been torn away.


Despite the mayor’s opinion and similar calls from the CEO of the nearby Soap Box Derby, there’s still a fight for a future at the stadium. The ABJ reports that a news release from Team 1 and a partner company is imminent. 

What that may portend — and whether the city will even welcome further “plans” at the stadium — remains unclear for now. 

This article appears in Apr 13-19, 2016.

Eric Sandy is an award-winning Cleveland-based journalist. For a while, he was the managing editor of Scene. He now contributes jam band features every now and then.

2 replies on “Akron Leaders Call for Demolition of Rubber Bowl”

  1. The stadium was once used by the NFL — the 1952 Dallas Texans played a regular season home game in the Rubber Bowl (the back story to the cross-country trek would make a neat ESPN Films: 30 for 30). The Team 1 plan essentially folded up when the proposed New United States Football League never progressed past a website. Any more chatter concerning the facility’s future is nothing but empty rhetoric from those who have a blank piece of paper — it needs to be razed for redevelopment.

  2. July 1973……lost the tickets to Watkins Glen Allman/Dead/Band mega-show……talked gang into going to Akron Rubber Bowl to see the NY Dolls, Mott The Hoople and the Pretenders to make up for my fuck-up……got fucked-up and THOROUGHLY enjoyed the show……funky, funky, but chic!

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