This year marks two decades since the massive Richfield Coliseum was torn down and its asphalt parking lots were removed. In their place, park volunteers and staff have planted thousands of native wildflowers and grasses at the site.
Over time, Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) earned an Important Bird Area (IBA) designation by the National Audubon Society, recognized as an ideal site for observing more than 200 bird species annually. This may never have materialized if the old Richfield Coliseum hadn’t been demolished and its 327-acre property intentionally set aside, protected from urban development.
The arena land today welcomes relatively uncommon bird species like grasshopper sparrow, Savannah sparrow and eastern meadowlark; and three on the Ohio Species of Concern list: Henslow’s sparrow, sedge wren and bobolink. Wilson’s snipe, designated as an Ohio Species of Special Interest, is another uncommon bird documented at the Coliseum site.
Black and orange monarch butterflies, facing a decline in other areas, thrive in the grassland’s milkweed, goldenrod and other wildflowers, feeding and resting on their migration south to Mexico in early September.
Restoring the Land
Two unexpected things happened shortly after the Coliseum was torn down… one good, the other a challenge, says CVNP Plant Ecologist Chris Davis.
First, relatively rare grassland birds were discovered in the fields and brush. Park officials decided to manage the site to support these species, maintaining it as grassland habitat rather than allowing it to follow natural succession from field to forest. The field has been divided into three areas each mowed once every three years. The rotation helps support the unusual species of birds.
Second, the field was quickly overcome by nonnative, invasive plants including autumn olive, Canada thistle and teasel, frustrating park officials.
“We have spent many, many hours over many years battling these species at the site and, only recently, seem to finally be getting a handle on the situation,” Davis says. “Although not eliminated, many invasive plants at the site are now down to tolerable levels.”
History of Place
Several farms dominated the landscape before the Richfield Coliseum was built, according to the National Park Service. Farms along State Route 303 raised vegetables, pigs, sheep, chickens, and Hereford cattle. But by the late 1960s, most families had sold their farms to Nick Mileti, then owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
From 1974 to 1994, the 20,000-seat Richfield Coliseum was the leading entertainment center for the region. While built for the Cavs, the Coliseum also hosted big events ranging from rock concerts to circus acts.
Cavs owners George and Gordon Gund moved the NBA team to downtown Cleveland in 1994 and the Coliseum stood vacant for years. Ultimately, to protect the neighboring national park and small communities from major commercial development, the Gund family worked with the Trust for Public Land. The Trust acquired the property in 1999 and oversaw its transformation, tearing up 80 acres of asphalt parking lots, demolishing the arena and adding 5,000 pounds of topsoil with grass seed.
Impact of Restoration
Saving the sprawling Coliseum site from urban development has provided a natural oasis between Cleveland and Akron. Unlike typical national parks, CVNP is located in an urban area, not out in the wilderness. A National Park study estimated that retail development on Coliseum land would have brought 15,000 cars daily to the area’s scenic, two-lane byways.
Now fully incorporated into the national park, the restored field provides natural, scenic and recreational values essential to CVNP’s core mission. “Continued work to improve the condition and variety of native plants at the site will further benefit native wildlife, including birds, butterflies and bees,” Davis says. “Such habitat is increasingly rare in our area but is an important filter for clean water and reducing stormwater runoff into the Cuyahoga River and tributary streams.”
More than two decades from its heyday as an entertainment hub, this bird haven at the Coliseum site welcomes visitors, both winged and pedestrian. The field is on the north side of State Route 303, just west of Peninsula off Interstate 271.
Estelle Rodis-Brown is a freelance writer and photographer from Portage County who also serves as digital/assistant editor of Boomer magazine.
