AKRON, Ohio — Downtown Akron is getting rid of some of its concrete jungle to make room for a beach paradise—four sand volleyball courts to be exact, according to News 5 media partner Ohio.com.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition and Summit Sports & Social are working together to install four public sand volleyball courts and a park along the Towpath Trail in an industrial complex known as Canal Place.
“The whole idea with this is to create a destination downtown on the Towpath,” said Logan Jennings to Ohio.com, who owns and operates Summit Sports with friend Andrew Novak.
The sand volleyball space will serve as the new home for Summit Sports, which has been running volleyball leagues in downtown since 2016. Approximately 568 tons of sand will be used to fill the courts.
Lewis Landscaping of Copley is building the courts on top of an existing concrete pad. Crews will also put a walkway connecting the volleyball courts to the Towpath.
Jennings and Novak said they have been running a volleyball league near the Canal Park baseball stadium for years, attracting hundreds of players, some of whom who work downtown.
The addition of the volleyball courts will help make the park more of a gathering place for downtown, Novak said.
