7 17 Credit Union Park

History

Planning

In anticipation of relocating a team to the region, Mike Agganis, then owner of the Vermont Reds in Burlington, Vermont, approached former City of Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic in 1987 about building a baseball stadium in downtown Akron, Ohio. While plans did not materialize, and Agganis found a home at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium in Canton, Ohio, Plusquellic shared that vision of a downtown baseball stadium and viewed a stadium as a way to revitalize an area void of entertainment venues.

In the early-1990's, Plusquellic, who served as Mayor from 1987–2015, made it a priority to bring a stadium to downtown Akron. Plusquellic chose a 8.2 acre site situated between South Main Street and the Ohio and Erie Canal, with several buildings across 11 parcels that required demolition. On November 22, 1994, a deal was reached with Agganis for a $20 million, 8,500 seat stadium, with Agganis contributing $1.5 million in private funds. Plusquellic spent time visiting other cities with downtown stadiums built of brick, which was a priority in design for him. Anthony Manna of Signet LLC is also credited with helping to bring the stadium to Akron.

Construction and opening

Ground was broken on January 5, 1996, after the City of Akron spent $5 million to secure and prepare the land for development. The ballpark was officially named Canal Park on September 24, 1996. Construction was completed on January 31, 1997. The total cost of $31 million exceeded the original planned investment of $20 million. The City of Akron owns the stadium while the team leases it from the city.

7 17 Credit Union Park opened on April 10, 1997, hosting the newly relocated Akron Aeros and then the Montreal Expos affiliate, the Harrisburg Senators. Jaret Wright, who would pitch later that season for the Cleveland Indians in the World Series, earned the win in a 13–2 victory. Notably, Plusquellic did not attend the ballpark opener, as the relationship between him and Agganis had grown poor during this time.

2013–present

Upon the Ken Babby-led Fast Forward Sports Group acquiring the Aeros in late 2012, an era of reinvestment in 7 17 Credit Union Park was ushered in.

Following the announcement of the team rebranding from the Aeros to the RubberDucks for the 2014 season, new premium picnic and restaurant spaces were also added throughout Canal Park at a total cost of $3.5 million. In consultation with Canal Park's original architect Populous (formerly HOK Sport), multiple picnic areas were added including "Fowl Territory" with a capacity of 400 people behind 3rd base, "Duck Row" with a capacity of 56 people, "Tiki Terrace" with a capacity of 191 people in right field, and an indoor event space known as "The Duck Club", which can accommodate up to 150 people. A tiki bar was also added next to the Tiki Terrace, in addition to the creation of a 4,000 Sq foot, full-service restaurant known as "The Game Grill & Bar". About 1,100 stadium seats were removed to construct the picnic areas.

Prior to the 2016 season, the field received its first complete renovation since the stadium opened. This included the installation of a new Rain Bird Irrigation System, field drainage, and a reconstruction of both bullpens, the pitcher's mounds and batter’s boxes.

After a smaller project to extend the safety netting in 2018, the team decided to extend the netting from foul pole to foul pole in 2020, a relatively common act at baseball stadiums nationwide. The team cited a safer viewing environment for fans as the reason for the extension. The new net reaches a maximum height of 37 ft.

Between 2021 and 2022, the City of Akron invested $3 million to repair roof leaks, concrete, replace box office windows, and replace every seat at 7 17 Credit Union Park, which were initially installed when the stadium opened in 1997. Hussey Seating Company manufactured the new seats.

For the 2023 season, the field was replaced, which included modifications to the bullpens, warning track, and drainage system. A series of investments was also made to locker room facilities to comply with standards set by Major League Baseball.

In advance of the 2025 season, a new scoreboard was installed as the tallest in Minor League Baseball, along with a renovation of all concourse-level restrooms to replace sinks, toilets, partitions, reseal floors, and repaint walls.

Naming rights

The RubberDucks announced on September 4, 2025, that naming rights to the park had been purchased by 7 17 Credit Union, a credit union headquartered in Warren, Ohio. The agreement spans 6 years, from 2025 to 2031.

Features

7 17 Credit Union Park was constructed on a relatively small plot of land, approximately 8.2 acre, in the heart of downtown Akron, between South Main Street and the Ohio & Erie Canal, the stadium's original namesake (Canal Park). When opened, then-Mayor Plusquellic called the park a "tight squeeze", comparing the stadium to Fenway Park and its asymmetrical outfield wall. Primarily featuring a brick facade and location in an urban development, the stadium drew comparisons to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, also designed by Populous, then known as HOK Sport. A defunct clock tower on the outside of the stadium is modeled after the one that stood at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's former headquarters in downtown Akron.

The stadium is designed with a single deck, featuring a concourse at the top of the seating bowl. Seats extend from one foul pole to the other, and most sections contain 20–25 rows, although they taper to as few as five near the foul poles. 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 concourse along the first base line is also partially covered, containing the 1,200 square foot Team Shop.

The field is situated on 100,000 square feet of Kentucky Bluegrass. The stadium features distinctive dimensions; left field is 331 ft from homeplate with a 11.5 ft high fence that stretches from left field to center field. Center field reaches a maximum distance of 400 ft with a 60 ft high batter's eye positioned behind it. Only 12 ft of this fence is considered in play. Most of right field also features a 12 ft high fence, with a portion lowering to 8 ft near the foul poul with a distance of 337 ft from homeplate. The bullpens are positioned in right field under the scoreboard, with the RubberDucks positioned closest to the field and visitors elevated 3.5 ft behind it.

The home clubhouse is approximately 9,000 square feet on the third base side of the ballpark. In proximity are two batting/pitching cages, a workout facility, a training room, a player's lounge, and offices. The visitor's clubhouse, along the first baseline, is approximately 6,000 square feet and features a training room and offices. A dining room for the team was added to both clubhouses for the 2023 season. Both the home and visitors dugouts are considered some of the largest in Minor League Baseball.

Scoreboard

In August 2006, the park completed the installation of a new 18 ft by 25 ft digital scoreboard to replace the original board with light bulbs. The new board had full-color animation capacity and featured a four-color matrix display. The $386,000 project was originally expected to be completed in early July. The entire scoreboard measured 56¼'x68' and was the largest free-standing scoreboard in Minor League Baseball at the time.

In January 2013, shortly after the Ken Babby-led Fast Forward Sports Group acquired the team, the Aeros' announced a $1.65 million project to install a new scoreboard at 26 ft and 68 ft, continuing to be one of the largest in Minor League Baseball. Additionally, a new, smaller ribbon board display was installed in left field. Both displays were designed and built by Daktronics.

Before the 2025 season, the 7 17 Credit Union Park video boards were replaced once again, with a $4 million project to upgrade the main right field video board, left field ribbon board, and add two displays on the Suite Level facade. At 41 ft and 67 ft, the new video board is the tallest in Minor League Baseball by LED length.

| File:CP Scoreboard.JPG | 1997–2012 | File:Canal Park scoreboard Hudson Kent Stow.jpeg | 2013–2024 | File:Canal Park new scoreboard with Travis Bazzana 2025.jpg | 2025–present

Notable events

Aside from Akron RubberDucks baseball, 7 17 Credit Union Park occasionally hosts special events. In 2016, the RubberDucks hosted Eastern League All-Star Game and its associated events for the first time. During the next summer, 7 17 Credit Union Park also hosted its first concert ever, featuring a Rascal Flatts charity concert with Akron Children's Hospital. The stadium previously served as the finish line of the Akron Marathon from its inaugural year of 2003 through 2019.

Since the stadium's opening in 1997, it has also hosted numerous high school games each season. Since 2019, it has hosted the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) State Baseball Tournament. The Tournament was moved to Akron from Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio.

7 17 Credit Union Park was chosen as one of the host cities of the 2023 Banana Ball World Tour, featuring the Savannah Bananas and Party Animals. The exhibition games were hosted on July 2 and 3, in front of two sold-out crowds.

Ballpark firsts

All firsts were by the then-Akron Aeros unless otherwise stated

Attendance

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

References

References

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