Red Bird Stadium
| "The Coop","County Stadium" | |
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| Former names | Red Bird Stadium (1932-1954) Jets Stadium (1955-1970) Franklin County Stadium (1977-1984) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1155 West Mound Street Columbus, OH 43223 |
| Owner | Franklin County |
| Operator | Franklin County |
| Capacity | 17,500 (1932-1959) 12,000 (1960-1976) 15,000 (1977-2008) |
| Field size | Left Field - 355 ft Center Field - 400 ft Right Field - 330 ft |
| Surface | Natural Grass (1931-1983, and 1998-2008) AstroTurf (1984-1997) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1931 |
| Opened | June 3, 1932 |
| Renovated | 1977 |
| Closed | September 1, 2008 |
| Construction cost | $450,000 ($7.9 million in 2016 dollars) |
| Architect | Howard Dwight Smith |
| Tenants | |
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Columbus Red Birds (AA) (1931-1954) Columbus Blue Birds (NNL2) (1933) Columbus Bullies (APFA/AFL) (1938-1941) Columbus Jets (IL) (1955-1970) Columbus Magic (ASL) (1979-1980) Columbus Clippers (IL) (1978-2008) |
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Cooper Stadium was a baseball stadium in Columbus, Ohio and was the home of the minor league Columbus Clippers from 1977 to 2008.
Cooper Stadium was built in 1932 as Red Bird Stadium named for the then-Columbus Red Birds of the American Association. It was constructed using the same blueprints used for creating Red Wing Stadium in Rochester, New York in 1929. The Cardinals owned both teams when the respective stadiums were built.
When the Red Birds moved to Omaha after the 1954 season, the International League'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. The stadium is owned and operated by the Franklin County, Ohio government. It is located in the section of the city known as Franklinton.
It presently seats 11,000 in a single deck grandstand with an additional 4,000 overflow bleacher seats. Fans would ring cowbells to get Clippers rallies started.
Over the years, Cooper Stadium has been home to the Columbus Red Birds, a farm team for the St. Louis Cardinals; the Negro league Columbus Blue Birds; the Columbus Jets; and, after the renovation was completed, the Columbus Clippers. 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.
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