Jump to content

Spring Football in Akron -


Recommended Posts

Here is a PD story with some additional information. Personally, I think all this talk about buying the Rubber Bowl is merely posturing on the part of the Canton marketing group to help with negotiating a better price to use the Info. But it would be pretty cool to have games back at the old bowl, I'll admit. There's still probably only a 1 in 3 chance, IMHO, of Akron getting a team period.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Wikipedia entry for the Rubber Bowl has been updated to include its possible use by the USFL. It contains a comment that I find interesting.

Mason claims the City of Akron is supportive of Team1 Marketing Group's effort to potentially buying out the stadium although it would require extensive renovations.

There was a lot of bellyaching by “the Don” with the way he felt he was left out of UA’s plans for the Info. Could part of this be seen as an opportunity the Don's revenge? What if a renovated Rubber Bowl starts to compete for high school playoff action?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was told before the Info was built, RB renovations were not financially feasible. I'm guessing that is still the case.

Maybe they don't care about fan safety?

Or they'll only open up the sides, and permanently close-off the endzone?

It will be bizarre to see a Zips player go from college ball at InfoCision...to "pro" ball at the Rubber Bowl. It'll be like going from Oz to Kansas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Probably" isn't quite the same as "definitely," but I guess we'll see in a few weeks if it's really a done deal.

“We pretty much have a deal with the university that has been accepted,” Mason said. “... Probably within the next two to three weeks, we will take ownership of the Akron Rubber Bowl."

Good news would be that UA unloads a white elephant and rakes in a lot of cash right now. Bad news would be that the Info gains a local event competitor and loses potential future income. Let's hope the UA bean counters have crunched all the numbers and are doing what they think is best overall for UA.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your right, they should sell it for $3.

That way the BJ headline can read UA Triples Their Money on Rubber Bowl Investment

Now THAT'S the way to bring the discussion full circle AND get it back on topic, Dr Z. Who can forget the "old" USFL WINNING their antitrust suit against the NFL and receiving a judgment of just 1 dollar, which was TRIPLED under antitrust laws to a grand total of THREE DOLLARS!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your right, they should sell it for $3.

That way the BJ headline can read UA Triples Their Money on Rubber Bowl Investment

I don't know about the ABJ, but someone in the Athletic Department will have something similar on their resume if this goes through.

If the Don wants to partner with this group and fix up the RB, go ahead. I don't live in the City anymore and if he wants to flush money down the toilet like this, then go ahead. Concrete repairs almost always cost twice the original estimation because you never really know what you are getting into. This case will be no different. If UofA can't find a way to make some money with the USFL, they should not deal with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since they are prepared to spend "more than seven figures", all I can say is $10,000,000 still buys a lot of concrete. I would love to see the RB get fixed up and have another set of activities going on for the city. The immovable lights issue just leaves me shaking my head though...I'm sure the marketing group knows about the airport next door(?)

http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/local-grou...f-usfl-1.316991

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since they are prepared to spend "more than seven figures", all I can say is $10,000,000 still buys a lot of concrete.

It might by a lot of concrete restoration (It will cost much more than $10 million to repair the RB), but the issue of the stadium purchase is still out there. If this team wants that dump that badly, make them pay as much as possible to get that hole.

The people who run the league have no idea as to the history of failed events at the RB. It will become a money sink for them trying to have concerts, etc to make up the operating costs. They won't even own the parking rights so there is no source of revenue there.

A couple of things could be going on here. First, UofA really doesn't want this team playing at The Big Dialer and is seeing what they can really get out of that dump by the airport. I sure as heck wouldn't give it away if they wanted it that badly...Remember The Odd Corner?

Second, maybe this team wants to play at The Big Dialer, but doesn't like the asking price for rent. They are floating this RB idea to get UofA to lower their price. If they can get supported by the NFL and TV money at a rate to pay the rent at The Big Dialer, then it is just a matter of lowering the rent to help turn the profit quicker. The construction group toured the RB last Wednesday...they have no idea what the costs will be at this point because there wasn't enough time between the tour and the article to properly put even a budget number together. The also said they don't want to disclose potential investors or repair costs...of course not...they just looked at it Wednesday and don't know the costs....If they don't know the costs, nobody is going to invest without knowing if that seven figure cost is $10,000,000 or $60,000,000. If memory serves me right, the cost of repair of the RB at the time The Big Dialer was built was around half the cost of construction of The Big Dialer. That makes that number around $32 million. If the budget number is $32 million on a concrete repair, the actual price will come in around double that. The Big Dialer is the best place for them to play if the price is right. My guess is they are trying to get the price right.

This team will be DOA if they buy the RB.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
Too bad; Vulcans would be cool. Wonder if "Akron Pros" are out also?

I wouldn't see why they'd necessarily rule out Pros. The financial hanky-panky of the Vulcans still hangs in the air a bit. But "Akron Pros" (probably) only conjures up images of the earliest pro teams in most peoples minds.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...