Canal Park (Akron, Ohio)

Canal Park is a baseball stadium located in Akron, Ohio, United States, that is the home of the Akron RubberDucks of the Eastern League. The team is a double-A minor-league affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. Opened in 1997, the stadium was designed by Populous, the same architectural firm that designed the Indians' Jacobs Field, which opened three years earlier. The stadium takes its name from its location adjacent to the Ohio and Erie Canal, which runs behind the left-field wall.

Canal Park
Location300 South Main Street
Akron, Ohio 44308
Coordinates41.077924°N 81.522202°W / 41.077924; -81.522202
OwnerCity of Akron
OperatorAkron Professional Baseball Inc.
Capacity7,630[1]
Field sizeLeft Field: 331 feet (101 m)
Left Center: 376 feet (115 m)
Center Field: 400 feet (120 m)
Right Center: 375 feet (114 m)
Right Field: 337 feet (103 m)
SurfaceKentucky Bluegrass
Construction
Broke groundJanuary 5, 1996
Opened1997
Construction costUS$32 million
($51 million in 2019 dollars[2])
ArchitectPopulous
Project managerH. R. Gray[3]
Structural engineerDLZ, Inc.[4]
Services engineerBredson & Associates, Inc.[5]
General contractorSummit Construction Co., Inc.
Tenants
Akron RubberDucks (EL) (1997–present)
Former scoreboard display at Canal Park before installation of the new HD videoboard in 2013.

Features

The stadium is designed as a single deck with the concourse at the top. All seats for RubberDucks games are sold for one price, regardless of number of rows from the field, except for the KeyBank Duck Row seats. Seats extend all the way from one foul pole to the other (farther than most other parks at this level), and most sections contain 20-25 rows, although they taper to as little as five in the corners.

A series of 25 luxury boxes, and the press box, covers the concourse and the top few rows of seats from first base around to third base. The walkway down the right-field line is also covered, and contains a restaurant and the RubberDucks' team shop. A picnic berm in left field is available for rental by groups of 24 or more.[6]

During the 2006 Akron Aeros season, the team celebrated its 10th season in Canal Park with several events.

Aside from Akron RubberDucks baseball, Canal Park occasionally hosts special events such as local high school and college baseball and the Akron Marathon. On May 19, 2015, the RubberDucks officially announced that Canal Park will host the 2016 Eastern League All-Star Game and its associated events.[7]

Scoreboard

In August 2006, the park completed the installation of a new 18'x25' digital scoreboard to replace the original board with light bulbs. The new board has full color animation capacity and features a four color matrix display. The $386,000 project was originally expected to be completed in early July.[8] The entire scoreboard measures 56¼'x68' and is the largest free-standing scoreboard in minor league baseball.

In January 2013, The Aeros' new management announced plans to install a new scoreboard which will be 26 ft high and 68 ft wide and would cost $1.65 million. The scoreboard was completed in time for the start of the 2013 season, as well as a new smaller outfield display board near the picnic tables.[9]

RubberDucks baseball

Win–loss records

Below is a list of season-by-season records for the Akron Aeros/RubberDucks at Canal Park:

  • 1997 Akron Aeros season: 51-90 (5th), manager Jeff Datz
  • 1998 Akron Aeros season: 81-60 (1st), manager Joel Skinner • Lost to Harrisburg 3-1 in first round of playoffs
  • 1999 Akron Aeros season: 69-71 (5th), manager Joel Skinner
  • 2000 Akron Aeros season: 75-68 (3rd), manager Eric Wedge
  • 2001 Akron Aeros season: 68-74 (3rd), manager Chris Bando
  • 2002 Akron Aeros season: 93-48 (1st), manager Brad Komminsk • Lost to Harrisburg 3-2 in first round of playoffs
  • 2003 Akron Aeros season: 88-53 (1st), manager Brad Komminsk • Defeated Altoona 3-1 in first round of playoffs; defeated New Haven 3-0 in ELCS
  • 2004 Akron Aeros season: 63-78 (5th), manager Brad Komminsk
  • 2005 Akron Aeros season: 84-58 (1st), manager Torey Lovullo • Defeated Altoona 3-2 in first round of playoffs; defeated Portland 3-1 in ELCS
  • 2006 Akron Aeros season: 87-55 (1st), manager Tim Bogar • Defeated Altoona 3-2 in first round of playoffs; lost to Portland 3-2 in ELCS
  • 2007 Akron Aeros season: 80-61 (2nd), manager Tim Bogar • Defeated Erie 3-1 in first round of playoffs; lost to Trenton 3-1 in ELCS
  • 2008 Akron Aeros season: 80-62 (2nd), manager Mike Sarbaugh • Defeated Bowie 3-1 in first round of playoffs; lost to Trenton 3-1 in ELCS
  • 2009 Akron Aeros season: Defeated Reading Phillies in First Playoff Round and Defeated Connecticut Defenders 3-1 in Championship Series

In each season, the Aeros/RubberDucks have been a member of the Eastern League and served as the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians.

Canal Park main entrance

Attendance

On July 24, 2015, the RubberDucks reported their largest attendance ever of 8,301.[10]

Season Total attendance League rank Total Aeros/RubberDucks openings Average attendance per Aeros/RubberDucks opening
 Average attendance per Eastern League opening
(not including Aeros/RubberDucks openings)
1997 473,232 1st 71 (approx.) 6,665 4,260
1998 521,122 1st 71 (approx.) 7,340 4,334
1999 522,459 1st 71 (approx.) 7,359 4,954
2000 481,060 1st 71 (approx.) 6,775 4,147
2001 485,582 1st 71 (approx.) 6,839 4,294
2002 400,187 3rd 71 (approx.) 5,636 4,284
2003 445,603 2nd 71 (approx.) 6,276 4,128
2004 478,611 1st 71 (approx.) 6,741 4,399
2005 455,056 2nd 71 (approx.) 6,409 4,468
2006 412,995 3rd 71 (approx.) 5,817 4,353
2007 355,376 6th 64 5,553 4,831
2008 342,816 7th 67 5,117 4,570

References
  1. "Akron RubberDucks Canal Park". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  2. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  3. "Canal Park Baseball Stadium". H. R. Gray. Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  4. "DLZ Architecture" (PDF). Summit County Parks Architectural Services. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  5. "Pro Baseball Sports Facilities". Bredson & Associates, Inc. Archived from the original on April 10, 2002. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  6. "Picnics". Akron Aeros. January 19, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  7. http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20150519&content_id=125315570&vkey=pr_t402&fext=.jsp&sid=t402
  8. Storm, Stephanie (April 7, 2006). "Canal Park to Get New Scoreboard". Akron Beacon Journal. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  9. "New Restaurant Coming to Canal Park". Minor League Baseball. October 25, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  10. Davies, Spencer (July 24, 2015). "RubberDucks report: Ohio State Night becoming a tradition like O-H-I-O at Canal Park". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
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