InfoCision Stadium in Akron, OH

Basic Information

Stadium: InfoCision Stadium

Location: Akron, OH (41.07258, -81.50835)

Owner: University of Akron

Primary sport: football

Year constructed: 2009

Listed capacity: 27,881

Date last visited: October 2022

Stadium information: https://gozips.com/sports/2017/5/25/athletics-facilities-InfoCision

Summary Review: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

InfoCision Stadium may be one of the toughest stadiums I have ever had to review.  On one hand, the stadium is the newest stadium in the Mid-American Conference and one of the newest in Division I college football.  The stadium's design seems near perfect for a small FBS football stadium.  It is very vertical, so even though I sat in the second (and uppermost) deck I felt very close to the action.  Yet as nice as the structure is, there are some very bad things happening here.  Akron's football program is very poorly supported: there were only about 2000 fans in the stadium on the warm late October afternoon when I watched a game here.  The fact that Akron was 1-7 when I came here and that Akron has a large commuter student population were contributing factors.  Almost all of the seating is bench seating with no backs, which is tough on those of us with back issues.  The parking arrangements seem nonexistent even though a gameday parking map is posted on Akron's website.  I bought my hot dogs 50 minutes before kickoff, but they were barely warm.  I wonder when they actually cooked them.  As I watched the game, I kept thinking how much worse my gameday experience would be if I was watching this game at the old Rubber Bowl, Akron football's former home and arguably the worst sports venue ever.  (Aside: if you don't believe me about the Rubber Bowl, check out the location of the stadium lights from the pictures in this Wikipedia article; literally every seat had an obstructed view!)  My final judgment: InfoCision Stadium is a very good stadium that is being used very poorly.

Detailed Review:

Gameday Atmosphere: The band and spirit squads did their best, but with only 2000 people in attendance the gameday atmosphere was pretty flat.  The surrounding buildings, highways, and convenience stores remind you that the University of Akron is an urban campus.

Seating: Almost all bench seating except for 2 small sections that are benchbacks.  There is also grass seating on the hill behind the south endzone.

Field View: The stadium's construction is very vertical, and therefore even seats that are well above the field offer fantastic views of the action. 

Audio/Video: The video board and audio system are as good as I have seen at any small FBS football stadium.

Concessions/Hot Dogs: The hot dogs have the fake smoky taste that I detest.  Also, mine were only barely warm when I ordered them just under 1 hour before the game.  Only 1 concession stand per side was open, but honestly that was all they really needed for such a small crowd.

Pedestrian Flow: The stadium seems well-designed and therefore my guess is that getting around the stadium is quite easy, but there were not enough pedestrians to really test the design when I came here.

Parking: I never figured out the parking arrangement.  There was nobody to take my money at the designated daily fee garage, which is signed as being for commuters.  I ended up parking for free in Visitor's parking on the other side of campus.