Akron is celebrating the 100th birthday of a historic stadium with ties to the city’s past in the rubber industry.
Firestone Stadium was built in 1925 by the founder of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, Harvey S. Firestone, as a place for recreation for employees.
Akron City Councilmember Donnie Kammer, whose ward includes Firestone Stadium, has many fond memories at the stadium, watching his dad, a Firestone employee, play softball with his coworkers.
“When I was in my 20s and I stepped on there to play softball, it was kind of a good feeling. It was kind of cool," he said. "It was like, ‘Man this is where I hung out as a kid, and this is where my dad played. I watched him a million times, and here I am, playing softball here.’”
Softball was a big pastime for rubber workers in Akron, Kammer said. Employees from various rubber companies would form teams and play against each other to prove which company had the best softball team, he said.
Firestone owned the stadium until 1988, when it was bought out by Bridgestone, Kammer said.
“Once Akron owned it, we were able to bring in a women’s softball team in for a long time," he said.
That team – the Akron Racers, played from 1999 to 2000 and 2004 to 2017, according to the city. The Ohio Pride also played at the stadium in 2000, and the Cleveland Comets played there from 2018 to 2019, according to the city. When they left, there was a lull in activity at the stadium, Kamer said.
"It was a dead atmosphere," he said. "It was quiet, and then now, within the last year or two, we're starting to build and make people use the facility."
Firestone Stadium still hosts several softball tournaments, including the Ohio High School Athletic Association's state softball tournament and the Mid-American Conference softball tournament, which brings statewide and national attention to the stadium, Kammer said.
Kammer hasn't given up hope that the stadium will house another professional team again, he said.
"I would love for a team to use that again, because my goal is I want it to be used," he said. "I want to drive by - people drive by the stadium, myself drive by, people that are from out of town to drive by and just be like, 'Wow look at this. This is a beautiful facility, and look at all the stuff going on here.'"
In 2022, Akron finished a $1.47 million renovation on the stadium, updating the restrooms, concessions, heating, ventilation, field lighting and fencing and adding two more turf fields, according to the city.
A 100th anniversary celebration Saturday at the stadium will include a parade, food trucks, live entertainment and of course, softball, Kammer said.
