This weekend is The Big Game. If you are a football fan you are well aware that the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will kick off at 6:30 pm on Sunday, February 9th and all eyes will be on the field. If you are not a football fan, you might be a fan of the commercials that make their debut during the game. Either way, the entire game will be one that will be the highlight of the day.
I have shared before that Chris and I went to college at Ohio Northern University located in Ada, Ohio. Ada is also the home to Wilson Football Factory who makes the official footballs for the NFL and for the Super Bowl. The factory opened in 1955 and just moved to a new facility last year in 2024. Last fall we were fortunate enough to take a tour of the fairly new facility thanks to Chris’ sister and brother in law who live in Ada and arranged a tour of the plant. Chris, being a manufacturing guru, loved it and I learned a lot about things I never would have known before. Win win.
First up – the walls of Super Bowl Footballs. Pretty fun to see them all on display.
The tour begins with an overview of the company and our knowledgable tour guide gave us a lot of information – too much for my brain to remember but I did jot a few notes that will help me remember some of the facts. One fun fact is that each handmade Wilson football has been touched by 12 pairs of hands from start to finish.
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Each day 2500 – 3000 balls of various kinds are made at this small factory that employs 160 individuals. There are a variety of jobs from cutting the leather, inspecting the leather, sewing the balls, lacing the footballs (now that looks like a brutally difficult job) to turning the balls which looks equally as brutal. Whew. The workforce is impressive.
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The basic football has not changed in design with the exception of placing sensors in some of the balls so that next generation statistics can be taken. Sensors are also placed on players under their shoulder pads as well. Once this data is collected it is analyzed and improvements can be made by adjustments made by the players in response to the stats. Pretty amazing.
The leather is checked for blemishes and imperfections and marked accordingly so that each ball is perfect.
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Each NFL team gets 700 balls with 500 including sensors.
Speciality balls are on display including the Airless Gen 1 basketball (black one) and a Caitlyn Clark basketball.
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Custom balls can be ordered and made for any one and can even be done online.
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Approximately 10 footballs can be made per 1/2 a cow. Wow your friends with that fact at your Super Bowl Party.
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NFL balls are lock stitched with 2 sewers sewing 27, 000 footballs for the NFL. I hope I got that fact correct but pretty sure that is the amazing statistic that wowed me. Check out this old machine that is still used. I think this one was out for maintenance.
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This is such a great tour and even if you are not a huge sports fan I think you would find it interesting. If you are ever in the area it is worth checking out. The tours cost $15 and a percentage of the admission fee is donated to local youth sports programs. You can sign up for a tour online here. Interested in buying a custom ball? There are so many options and you can design and order by going to this part of the website. The site also has a huge offering of apparel for both men and women.
Before we left the factory we had to sign the huge piece of leather on the wall. What a great tour. Tell me, have you been to the Wilson factory in Ada, Ohio? I would love to hear your impressions.
