Cooper Stadium was a
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
stadium in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
that was built in 1931 and closed in 2008. It was the home of several minor league teams, including the
Columbus Clippers
The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...
from 1977 to 2008.
History
![Cooper Stadium, 1983](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Cooper_Stadium%2C_1983.jpg)
Cooper Stadium was built in 1931 as Red Bird Stadium as the home for the then-
Columbus Red Birds
The Columbus Red Birds were a top-level minor league baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, in the American Association from 1931 through 1954. The Columbus club, a member of the Association continuously since 1902, was previously known as ...
of the
American Association American Association may refer to:
Baseball
* American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891
* American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997
* American Association of Profe ...
, one of the minor league teams of the
St. Louis Cardinals. It was constructed using the same blueprints which were used for building
Red Wing Stadium
Silver Stadium was a baseball stadium located at 500 Norton Street in Rochester, New York. It was the home stadium for the Rochester Red Wings of the International League from 1929 to 1996, and for the New York Black Yankees of the Negro Nation ...
in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
in 1929. The Cardinals owned both teams when the respective stadiums were built.
When the Red Birds moved to
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
after the 1954 season, the
International League
The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...
's
Ottawa Athletics moved to Columbus as the
Jets and took up residence at the stadium. Accordingly, it was renamed Jets Stadium. The Jets moved out in 1970, and the stadium sat dormant for six years.
When the International League granted a new franchise to Columbus, the county government bought and renovated Jet Stadium, which was renamed Franklin County Stadium, for the newly minted Clippers. In 1984 the stadium was renamed in honor of
Harold Cooper, who was responsible for bringing the Jets to Columbus in the 1950s, and had AstroTurf installed, which was removed by 1997. The stadium was owned and operated by the
Franklin County government, located in the section of the city known as
Franklinton.
Tenants and events
Over the years, Cooper Stadium was home to the
Columbus Red Birds
The Columbus Red Birds were a top-level minor league baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, in the American Association from 1931 through 1954. The Columbus club, a member of the Association continuously since 1902, was previously known as ...
, a farm team for the
St. Louis Cardinals; the
Negro league
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...
Columbus Blue Birds
The Columbus Blue Birds were a professional Negro league baseball team based in Columbus, Ohio in 1931 and 1933.
Founding
Their name appears to have been derived from that of the Columbus Red Birds, the top-level minor league baseball team th ...
;
the
Columbus Jets; and, after the renovation was completed, the
Columbus Clippers
The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...
. From 1939 through 1941, Cooper Stadium (then named Red Bird Stadium) was also home to the
Columbus Bullies, two-time champions of the
third American Football League
The American Football League, also known retrospectively as the AFL III to distinguish it from earlier organizations of that name, was a professional American football league that operated from 1940–1941. It was created when three teams, the o ...
.
Cooper Stadium hosted the 1989
Triple-A All-Star Game
The Triple-A All-Star Game was an annual baseball game held from 1988 to 2019 between professional players from the affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball. These leagues were the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast League ( ...
. The team of
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
-affiliated All-Stars defeated the team of
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
-affiliated All-Stars, 8–3.
The stadium has also hosted a number of other events, such as
roller derby
Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States.
Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (jam ...
s, music concerts (including
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...
,
Rush
Rush(es) may refer to:
Places
United States
* Rush, Colorado
* Rush, Kentucky
* Rush, New York
* Rush City, Minnesota
* Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois
* Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream
* Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...
,
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
&
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...
), professional wrestling (including Bobo Brazil, the Sheik, & Ali Baba) and hosted evangelist
Billy Graham.
Cooper Stadium also hosted the
OHSAA Ohio high-school boys baseball State Tournament.
Final baseball game
The Clippers moved from Cooper Stadium after the 2008 season to a new ballpark,
Huntington Park, which is located in the
Arena District in
downtown Columbus. On September 1, 2008, the final game was played as the
Toledo Mud Hens
The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...
defeated the Columbus Clippers in front of 16,770 fans, the third largest crowd in stadium history.
Racetrack conversion
![Columbus, Ohio JJ 08](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Columbus%2C_Ohio_JJ_08.jpg)
As of May 1, 2008, a proposal to turn the site of Cooper Stadium into an auto racing facility was being considered. This is not a completely new use for the facility, as the parking lot south of the stadium has been used for
Sports Car Club of America
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...
and
autocross
Autocross (also called "Solo", "Auto-x" or "Autoslalom") is a timed competition in which drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either a sealed or an unsealed surface. It is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competition ...
racing as well as motorcycle training. On June 27, 2011, the Columbus City Council voted to rezone the site to allow for a racetrack to be built.
On December 20, 2011, the Columbus Board of Zoning Adjustment approved a special permit by a vote of 4-0 that would clear the way for developer Arshot Investment to build a half-mile racetrack, automotive research and technology center. Arshot planned to spend up to $40 million to develop the 47-acre site.
Rumored plans also included a $22 million overhaul to eventually become the OHSAA stadium for most outdoor events (baseball, football, soccer, lacrosse, etc.). This would then make Cooper Stadium a
multi-purpose stadium
A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...
.
By April 2017 the first base side of the stadium had been demolished, leaving the third base side and bleachers still standing as what was to become the straightaway grandstands of the proposed race track. No other construction had been completed and according to an article appearing in ''
The Columbus Dispatch
''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in 19 ...
'', the project appeared to be dead.
As of September 2021, the former stadium site sits half demolished and abandoned.
References
External links
Cooper Stadiumat Abandoned
at Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues
{{AFL III
American Football League (1940) venues
Baseball venues in Ohio
Columbus Clippers
Defunct baseball venues in the United States
Defunct sports venues in Ohio
Defunct minor league baseball venues
Negro league baseball venues still standing
Sports venues in Columbus, Ohio
Franklinton (Columbus, Ohio)
Endangered buildings in Columbus, Ohio