Rubber Bowl

The Rubber Bowl is a stadium in Akron, Ohio, United States, primarily used for American football. From its opening in 1940 until 2008, it served as the home field of the Akron Zips football team of the University of Akron prior to the opening of InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field. Throughout its history, it has also hosted concerts, professional football, high school football, and other events. Since 2008, it is occasionally used for high school football. It is named after the predominance of the tire industry in Akron. The stadium has a seating capacity of 35,202 and is located in southeastern Akron next to Akron Fulton International Airport and Derby Downs, about 6 mi southeast of downtown.

History
The movement to build a stadium in Akron began in 1939 when Akron Beacon Journal sports editor James Schlemmer and Akron Municipal Airport director Bain Fulton began a campaign asking patrons to donate $1 each. Later that year, the Works Progress Administration authorized construction of a horseshoe-shaped stadium in southern Akron adjacent to Derby Downs, the home of the Soap Box Derby that had been built in 1936. Construction lasted approximately one year and the first event hosted was a state music and drill competition in June 1940. Dedication ceremonies were held in August 1940 before a crowd estimated between 36,000 and 40,000 the day before the running of the seventh Soap Box Derby.

Akron Zips football
The primary use of the Rubber bowl was for American football games. The Akron Zips football team was the primary tenant, and they played their first game in the stadium on October 5, 1940, getting their first win in the facility November 9 of that year. Prior to playing at the Rubber Bowl, the Zips football teams played at Buchtel Field, a 7,000-seat facility that opened in 1923. The Zips recorded their first sellout in the Rubber Bowl on September 30, 1961. In 1971, the university purchased the stadium for $1 from the city. An artificial surface was installed in 1983, which was replaced played with AstroPlay in 2003. The Zips played 324 games at the stadium, which included their first-ever appearance on ESPN in 1986. Other notable games include the highest-scoring game in the stadium's history, a 65–62 victory over Eastern Michigan in 2001, as well as a 65–7 Akron victory over Howard University in 2003. In 2005, the Zips clinched their firest Mid-American Conference East Division title and spot in the 2005 MAC Championship Game with a 35–3 win over arch-rival Kent State in that year's Wagon Wheel game. Akron would go on to win the 2005 MAC Championship with a last-second 31–30 win over Northern Illinois at Ford Field in Detroit.

In 2003, the university began exploring the feasibility of building an on-campus stadium to replace the Rubber Bowl, which was in disrepair and several miles away from campus. In 2007, plans were announced for a new stadium, later known as InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field, with work beginning in January 2008 and opening in September 2009. The final Akron Zips football game at the Rubber Bowl took place on November 13, 2008 against the Buffalo Bulls. The game was nationally televised on ESPN and featured the two teams tied for first place in the Mid-American Conference's East Division with identical 5-4 (3-2) records entering the game. Buffalo defeated the Zips 43-40 in four overtimes in front of a crowd of 18,516. For the Zips, it was both the first four-overtime game and the first overtime loss in school history. After the game, a special ceremony with current and former players and coaches was held to honor the 68-year history of the stadium.

Other uses
The Kent State Golden Flashes football team played select games in the Rubber Bowl during the 1940s prior to the opening of Memorial Stadium in 1950. The stadium also hosted professional football on a number of occasions. The Cleveland Rams of the National Football League (NFL) played two regular-season games at the Rubber Bowl, one in 1941 and again in 1942, and the NFL's Cleveland Browns used the stadium for 19 preseason games over the years. On November 27, 1952, the Rubber Bowl hosted a "home" game for the financially troubled and league-controlled Dallas Texans. The Texans recorded their only win in franchise history, a 27–23 victory over the George Halas-led Chicago Bears, in front of approximately 3,000 fans. Halas had been so confident the Bears would beat the Texans that he started his second-string players. The Rubber Bowl has also hosted around 1,500 football games for the high schools in Akron as well as for Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) playoff games.

The Rubber Bowl was also a regular performance venue. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus gave its first performance since the Hartford Circus Fire on July 6, 1944. Music groups such as Black Sabbath, Simon & Garfunkel, Alice Cooper, Three Dog Night, and The Rolling Stones played there in the 1970s. In the 1980s, the Slippery When Wet tour of Jon Bon Jovi and the Monsters of Rock Tour 1988 that featured Van Halen, the Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica, and Kingdom Come had stops at the Rubber Bowl. Simon & Garfunkel returned in 1983 in front of a crowd of around 37,000, their first tour together in 13 years. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bob Dylan, and The Grateful Dead toured together in 1986 and played at the Rubber Bowl, which featured Bob Dylan performing live on stage for the first time with The Grateful Dead. The stadium also hosted a Veterans Memorial Jam concert with Aretha Franklin, Ringo Starr, and Three Dog Night in 1997 and Ozzfest in 1998.

Purchase
On June 28, 2012, it was revealed that local marketing company Team1 Marketing Group of Canton was pursuing the Rubber Bowl for a potential United States Football League (USFL) team called the Akron Fire. Sean Mason of Team1 argued that even though InfoCision Stadium is newer, the Akron Fire's ability to generate revenue would be less due to the University of Akron controlling concession and marketing rights, and by buying the Rubber Bowl outright it could also be used for other sporting events and concerts. The Rubber Bowl was purchased by Team1 Marketing in January 2013 for $38,000, with several improvements planned such as updates to the press box, locker rooms, and concession areas, along with new scoreboards and seating. The company has announced plans to acquire a USFL franchise.