In 2013, the Rubber Bowl was acquired by Team1 Marketing Group Inc. of Canton, Ohio, with plans to renovate and update the structure as the home for a professional football team.

Renovation work began later in 2013, but initial plans for a professional team in the revived United States Football League (USFL) fell through.

By 2020, the south and east tiers, built into the hillside, remained, along with their respective ticket booths, though all wound up in a dilapidated state from damage caused by vandals and weathering.

The Akron Zips football team was the primary tenant, and they played their first game in the stadium on October 5, 1940, against Case Western Reserve, getting their first win in the facility November 9, 1940, against Kent State.

On September 15, 1973, before the Acme-Zip game, renown tightrope walker Karl Wallenda walked a wire suspended above the field while the Akron Zips marching band played circus music.

[3] In 2003, the university began exploring the feasibility of building an on-campus stadium to replace the Rubber Bowl, which was in disrepair and several miles away from campus.

[3][5][6] The Kent State Golden Flashes football team played select games in the Rubber Bowl during the 1940s, prior to the opening of Memorial Stadium in 1950.

Music groups such as Black Sabbath, Simon & Garfunkel, Alice Cooper, Three Dog Night, and The Rolling Stones played there in the 1970s.

The stadium also hosted a Veterans Memorial Jam concert with Aretha Franklin, Ringo Starr, and Three Dog Night in 1997 and Ozzfest in 1998.

The Rubber Bowl was purchased by Team1 Marketing in January 2013 for $38,000, with several improvements planned such as updates to the press box, locker rooms, and concession areas, along with new scoreboards and seating.

[16] Team1 gave up the deed on August 29, 2017 allowing the city of Akron to become full-time owners after Team1 announced that they failed to attract attention to the structure.

[18] Demolition began in 2018 with the scoreboard and the western portion of the stadium closest to Derby Downs, which included the press box, being razed, while the east and south tiers, which are built into the adjacent hill, remaining.