Summa Field at InfoCision Stadium
Encyclopedia
InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field is the home stadium of the Akron Zips football
team at the University of Akron
in Akron
, Ohio
. New for the 2009 football
season, the official ground-breaking ceremony for the stadium was held on April 4, 2008 and it opened on September 12, 2009 for a sold out game between the Akron Zips and the Morgan State Bears. The stadium was constructed to replace the Rubber Bowl
, which was the prior home of the University of Akron Zips
football team.
program was completed in the fall of 2004 and included the construction of nine new buildings, the renovations or updating of 14 other buildings and structures, and numerous capital improvement projects. The New Landscape for Learning included a new Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences
building, Honors Complex, a new Student Recreation and Wellness Center, and a new Student Union. Several public streets were closed to provide a more friendly environment for pedestrians and new greenspace.
The Rubber Bowl
, the former home of the Zips football team, was located six miles (10 km) off of the Akron campus. An on-campus stadium had been long desired, and, in light of this and due to the high maintenance costs for the Rubber Bowl, the decision was made to construct an on-campus stadium.
In order to build the new stadium, several dormitories had to be demolished and the properties of local tenants were acquired using eminent domain
. In order to house the displaced students, the University spent $22.6 million to purchase Quaker Square
, a former Quaker Oats Company
oat silo that was converted into a hotel.
There are two team shops, one located on each side of the stadium. The scoreboard is 84 feet (25.6 m) wide and 60 feet (18.3 m) tall, and there are video ribbon boards located throughout.
41-0. To mark the occasion, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to inaugurate the new stadium. Amongst those who cut the ribbon were Don Plusquellic
(Mayor of Akron), Betty Sutton
(member of the United States House of Representatives
), and Luis Proenza (President of the University of Akron).
and the playing field for Summa Health System
. In the press tower on the stadium's west side, the club seating is named after the Akron-based FirstMerit Corporation and the press box for the local Towpath Credit Union.
that operates call centers. Through Taylor's $10 million donation to the university, InfoCision secured naming rights for the stadium for twenty years.
located in top level of the press tower. The press box will be referred to as the Towpath Credit Union Press Box at least until 2013, with an additional option for a five year extension through 2018.
Akron Zips football
The University of Akron Zips are a college football program representing the University of Akron that competes in NCAA Division I FBS Mid-American Conference football...
team at the University of Akron
University of Akron
The University of Akron is a coeducational public research university located in Akron, Ohio, United States. The university is part of the University System of Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a small college affiliated with the Universalist Church. In 1913 ownership was transferred to the City of...
in Akron
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. New for the 2009 football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
season, the official ground-breaking ceremony for the stadium was held on April 4, 2008 and it opened on September 12, 2009 for a sold out game between the Akron Zips and the Morgan State Bears. The stadium was constructed to replace the Rubber Bowl
Rubber Bowl
The Rubber Bowl is a stadium in Akron, Ohio primarily used for American football. From 1940 to 2008, it served as the home field of the University of Akron's Zips football team...
, which was the prior home of the University of Akron Zips
Akron Zips
One of the unique nicknames in all of intercollegiate athletics belongs to The University of Akron. Originally Zippers, athletic director Kenneth Cochrane officially shortened the nickname to the Zips in 1950. Twenty-five years earlier a campus-wide contest had been conducted to choose a nickname...
football team.
Construction and planning
InfoCision Stadium is part of the continuation of a building initiative undergone by the University of Akron called the "New Landscape for Learning." The $300 million constructionConstruction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
program was completed in the fall of 2004 and included the construction of nine new buildings, the renovations or updating of 14 other buildings and structures, and numerous capital improvement projects. The New Landscape for Learning included a new Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences
Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences
The Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences is the largest college of the University of Akron, located in Akron, Ohio.-History:The Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences traces its origins back to 1870 with Buchtel College, which was the predecessor to the University of Akron. It is named after John R...
building, Honors Complex, a new Student Recreation and Wellness Center, and a new Student Union. Several public streets were closed to provide a more friendly environment for pedestrians and new greenspace.
The Rubber Bowl
Rubber Bowl
The Rubber Bowl is a stadium in Akron, Ohio primarily used for American football. From 1940 to 2008, it served as the home field of the University of Akron's Zips football team...
, the former home of the Zips football team, was located six miles (10 km) off of the Akron campus. An on-campus stadium had been long desired, and, in light of this and due to the high maintenance costs for the Rubber Bowl, the decision was made to construct an on-campus stadium.
In order to build the new stadium, several dormitories had to be demolished and the properties of local tenants were acquired using eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
. In order to house the displaced students, the University spent $22.6 million to purchase Quaker Square
Quaker Square
Quaker Square is a mall located in downtown Akron, Ohio, which is the result of the renovation of the Quaker Oats mill, silos, and factory which originally operated there. The complex is currently a hotel and a dormitory for the University of Akron.-History:...
, a former Quaker Oats Company
Quaker Oats Company
The Quaker Oats Company is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago. It has been owned by Pepsico since 2001.-History:Quaker Oats was founded in 1901 by the merger of four oat mills:...
oat silo that was converted into a hotel.
Facilities
InfoCision Stadium holds 27,000 spectators in traditional seating with an additional 3,000 the grassy knoll on the south end of the stadium. The cost for the stadium complex, including the endzone facility, was $61.6 million.There are two team shops, one located on each side of the stadium. The scoreboard is 84 feet (25.6 m) wide and 60 feet (18.3 m) tall, and there are video ribbon boards located throughout.
Press tower
The seven-level press tower contains concession stands, restrooms, 80000 sq ft (7,432.2 m²). of academic space, and also a number of premium seating options. They include:- The FirstMerit Foundation Club Level - features 522 Club Seats, 38 loge boxes seating 152 visitors, two lounge/bar areas and upscale concessions;
- Seventeen Suites — 16 private suites with 16 seats per suite and one “Presidential Suite” for the University to seat 52;
- Towpath Credit Union Press Level - The seventh level of the western building contains state of the art press rooms. Lower levels of the tower include fully furnished and updated locker rooms and sports medicine facilities.
"The Hill"
The stadium also has a sloped, grassy hill at the south end of the field that, in addition to standing-room only areas, holds 3,000 people. The section is used to accommodate spillover from the 5,000 seat student section, also known as the "Roo Zoo" that is located in the bleachers adjacent to the hill on both sides of the field.Opening game
The home opener of the 2009 football season marked the first game held in InfoCision Stadium. In it, the Zips defeated Morgan StateMorgan State University
Morgan State University, formerly Centenary Biblical Institute , Morgan College and Morgan State College , is a historically black college in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Morgan is Maryland's designated public urban university and the largest HBCU in the state of Maryland...
41-0. To mark the occasion, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to inaugurate the new stadium. Amongst those who cut the ribbon were Don Plusquellic
Don Plusquellic
Donald L. Plusquellic is the current mayor of Akron, Ohio. First elected in 1987, he became the 59th Mayor of Akron after previously serving 13 years on Akron City Council...
(Mayor of Akron), Betty Sutton
Betty Sutton
Betty Sue Sutton is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. She is a member of the Democratic Party.The district includes most of the western and southern suburbs of Cleveland, and includes North Royalton, Akron, Lorain, Elyria, Strongsville, Avon and Cuyahoga Falls.-Early life and...
(member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
), and Luis Proenza (President of the University of Akron).
Naming rights
Four companies hold naming rights to various parts of the stadium. The stadium is named for InfoCision Management CorporationInfoCision Management Corporation
InfoCision Management Corporation is a Bath Township, Ohio based company that operates call centers. The second-largest teleservice company in the United States, the firm operates 30 call centers at 12 locations throughout Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania where it employs more than 4,000 people...
and the playing field for Summa Health System
Summa Health System
Summa Health System is an organized delivery system in Ohio. Encompassing a network of hospitals, community health centers, a health plan, a physician-hospital organization, an entrepreneurial entity, research and a foundation,...
. In the press tower on the stadium's west side, the club seating is named after the Akron-based FirstMerit Corporation and the press box for the local Towpath Credit Union.
InfoCision
Principal naming rights for the stadium were purchased through a personal donation by Gary Taylor, Founder and Chairman of InfoCision Management Corporation, a firm based in nearby Bath TownshipBath Township, Summit County, Ohio
Bath Township is one of the nine townships of Summit County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 9,635 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the western part of the county, it borders the following townships and cities:...
that operates call centers. Through Taylor's $10 million donation to the university, InfoCision secured naming rights for the stadium for twenty years.
Summa
Summa Health System, an Ohio Non-Profit Hospital, purchased (by means of its for-profit insurance company, SummaCare) twenty years of naming rights for the field with a $5 million donation.FirstMerit
FirstMerit Corporation, a diversified financial services company headquartered in Akron, purchased (by means of its charitable giving arm, FirstMerit Foundation) naming rights for the club level seating of the press tower for ten years.Towpath Credit Union
Towpath Credit Union, formerly called the "Akron Teachers Credit Union", pledged $100,000 over five years to secure naming rights to the press boxPress box
The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box. In general, newspaper writers sit in this box and write about the on-field event as it unfolds...
located in top level of the press tower. The press box will be referred to as the Towpath Credit Union Press Box at least until 2013, with an additional option for a five year extension through 2018.