Ohio Stadium Faces Foreclosure

Apr 11, 2017

A 35,000-seat Ohio stadium that once hosted concerts by music legends is now the subject of a foreclosure.

According to a WKSU report, the Rubber Bowl opened in 1940 and was the stadium for the University of Akron until 2008, and it hosted the school’s sporting events along with concerts by the Rolling Stones, and the Grateful Dead; it was also the launch site for the 1983 Simon and Garfunkel reunion tour. The school sold the stadium to Canton, Ohio-based Team 1 Marketing, which announced plans to renovate the structure for concerts and arena football.

However, Team 1’s plans never materialized. Last week, the Summit County Land Bank started foreclosure on the property, which carries nearly $200,000 in unpaid taxes. Team 1 co-owner Sean Mason blamed the situation on the city of Akron, stating that it failed to rezone the property to accommodate his plans. Mason also raised the hope of Akron taking over the Rubber Bowl’s deed and leasing the property back to his company for special events.

“We’re just asking for a partnership, and we can’t get that,” he said. “We need to have that partnership so it alleviates the zoning issues. The property is actually zoned residential, which actually makes no sense, but it just kind of slid by because it was the university that owned it.”

However, the Akron City Council has a different plan: it is currently discussing the demolition of the Rubber Bowl, due to the financial difficulties connected to the stadium and the advanced state of vandalism and deterioration that has occurred at the site since its closure.

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Phil Hall

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Apr 11, 2017

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