AKRON, Ohio – Just before the start of Thursday’s announcement in the Duck Club at Canal Park, the Akron RubberDucks’ Webster tipped his cap onto the head of 717 Credit Union’s Dollar Dog. Then, in a light moment foreshadowing the partnership to come, the two mascots bumped fists and shared a hug.
The RubberDucks and 717 Credit Union unveiled a naming-rights agreement that would rename the ballpark 717 Credit Union Park, a move the team said aligns with the city’s downtown redevelopment push and the credit union’s expansion beyond its Mahoning Valley base. The deal requires approval by Akron City Council and Major League Baseball; the team said it anticipates a “swift and smooth” process, with new signage set to rise in the offseason.
For 717, the partnership is the public face of an ambitious growth plan. “717 has been around for nearly 70 years. We got our founding in Warren, Ohio,” said John Demmler, president and CEO of the credit union. He noted the credit union now has about 120,000 members and nearly $2 billion in assets, with 12 branches in northeastern Ohio and plans to add 12 more by 2030 to stretch “from Canton to the tip of Cleveland,” with Akron at the center.
Demmler said the timing is deliberate as the nonprofit, member-owned institution accelerates its presence in Summit County and beyond. Next year, 717 expects to open branches in Aurora, Stow and Streetsboro, and it is evaluating three Akron locations. “We hope to have three locations in Akron,” he said, later specifying target neighborhoods as Wallhaven, Ellet and downtown. “We hope to have a presence downtown prior to opening day next season.”
The naming-rights platform, Demmler said, will carry the institution’s message and programs into a broader northeastern Ohio audience. The credit union will measure its mission on two fronts through 2030: reaching 10,000 people with financial literacy education and committing $100 million to community reinvestment focused on quality, affordable housing. “Those are two measures that we are bringing to Akron as part of this,” Demmler said.
Half of that community reinvestment is slated for the Akron area, alongside more than $50 million the credit union plans to invest in branch infrastructure and programming during its footprint buildout. “Housing, for us, is the epitome of community,” Demmler said.
Demmler also pointed to specific consumer products the credit union says are designed to lower costs for members. “Our credit card has rates as low as 7.17%,” he said, citing no balance transfer, cash advance or annual fees and noting that qualifying balance transfers and purchases made in the first 90 days keep that rate “for the life of those balances.”
On the mortgage side, 717 “does not charge fees for our mortgages” and also waives appraisal and title insurance fees, Demmler said. On a $130,000 home purchase, “that saves a borrower around $3,500 in traditional fees,” he added. “We feel it’s one barrier to home ownership that doesn’t need to stand.”
Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said the city views the partnership as part of a broader push on financial wellness and access. The administration has worked with the team across multiple projects to keep the publicly owned ballpark first-rate, he said, and 717’s emphasis on literacy and housing “struck the chord” as the city looks to expand services. He said council action is expected by late October.
“The focus on financial wellness gave me a lot of comfort and excitement,” he said.
Ken Babby, RubberDucks owner and CEO, said the agreement reflects alignment of values and a long-term commitment to affordability at the park. He declined to disclose terms, calling it a multiyear deal, but said naming-rights revenue helps the team offer fans affordable items such as $5 tickets and $2.50 hot dogs. The club will also continue its private investments at the 30-year-old ballpark, he said, following recent upgrades that include one of Double-A’s largest video boards.
“I think you can say decisively and confidently that the Akron RubberDucks are going to continue to invest in this incredible building, and the city of Akron is going to continue to invest in the building,” he said. “And the power of that public-private partnership will continue to thrive and will only be accelerated further from this partnership.”
From a business standpoint, Demmler said the RubberDucks platform will help 717 tell its story at scale as it enters new markets.
“Our entire kind of thing is building stronger communities, and that’s what the Akron RubberDucks is about,” Demmler said. “We couldn’t find a better partner than the Akron RubberDucks to do that.”
Demmler said the agreement underscores the credit union’s evolution from a Warren-founded cooperative to a regional player tying its growth to downtown Akron’s momentum. “Having the naming rights to the stadium is exciting,” Demmler said, “but it’s really more about establishing roots in the city and becoming part of the fabric of this community.”
The team expects the new name to greet fans when the gates open next season. As Babby put it, the partnership will “really take flight … on April 2, on opening day next year, when for the first time, fans will have the opportunity to walk into this building, and it will be known as 717 Credit Union Park.”
Pictured at top: From left are Jim Pfander, general manager of the Akron RubberDucks; Ken Babby, owner of the Akron RubberDucks; John Demmler, CEO of 717 Credit Union; and Akron Mayor Shammas Malik.