Canal Park is a

baseball stadium A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

located in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

, United States, that is the home of the

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

of the

Eastern League Eastern League may refer to: Baseball in the United States ''Most recent leagues listed first'' * Eastern League (1938–present), a minor league established in 1923 and renamed Eastern League in 1938, at the Double-A level * Eastern League (1916� ...

. The team is a double-A minor-league affiliate of the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

. Opened in 1997, the stadium was designed by Populous, then known as HOK Sport, the same architectural firm that designed the Guardians'

Progressive Field {{Infobox stadium , name = Progressive Field , nickname = ''"The Jake"'' , logo_image = Progressive_Field_Logo.svg , logo_caption = , image = , caption = Progressive Fiel ...

, which opened three years earlier. The stadium takes its name from its location adjacent to the

Ohio and Erie Canal The Ohio and Erie Canal was a canal constructed during the 1820s and early 1830s in Ohio. It connected Akron with the Cuyahoga River near its outlet on Lake Erie in Cleveland, and a few years later, with the Ohio River near Portsmouth. It a ...

, which runs behind the left-field wall.

Features

The stadium is designed as a single deck with the concourse at the top. 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 A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

around to

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. 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. 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 The Akron Marathon is a marathon located in Akron, Ohio. It is typically held in September. The race was first run in 2003. It played host to the North American Men's Marathon Relay Championships in its first two years. The 2021 event will take p ...

. On May 19, 2015, the RubberDucks officially announced that Canal Park will host the 2016

All-Star Game and its associated events.

Scoreboard

In August 2006, the park completed the installation of a new 18'x25' digital

scoreboard A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used ...

to replace the original board with

light bulbs An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the soc ...

. 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. 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.

RubberDucks baseball

Attendance

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

References

External links

Akron RubberDucks
{{Eastern League ballparks Akron RubberDucks Akron Aeros Sports venues in Akron, Ohio 1997 establishments in Ohio Sports venues completed in 1997 Minor league baseball venues Baseball venues in Ohio Tourist attractions in Akron, Ohio Eastern League (1938–present) ballparks