ADA, Ohio (WLIO) — The National Football League and the Wilson Football Company have been working together since 1941, but it was not until 1955 that football production moved to Ada.
Members of the Lima Rotary Club recently received a history lesson from Wilson representatives as the company prepares for Super Bowl 60. Wilson manufactures every official NFL football, producing more than 27,000 balls annually. The partnership is the longest-standing game ball relationship in professional sports, spanning 86 years.
The Ada facility employs a skilled workforce of 171 employees who work a day shift Monday through Friday, with the exception of one night each year dedicated to Super Bowl preparation. Casey Patton, plant manager at the Wilson Football Factory, explained how production ramps up for the league’s biggest game.
Kasey Patton Plant Manager Wilson Football Factory says, "We're shifting gears into Super Bowl mode. So we pre-make a lot of the balls. Don't stamp the team names on them until the night of the AFC, NFC playoff game. So that night we're in there, we're eating pizza, drinking pop. It's usually about midnight when we start stamping team names on the on the Super Bowl balls. It'll be sold both retail and shipped to the teams."
Each team receives 108 footballs for the Super Bowl. Despite decades of play, the only change made to the footballs during the 86-year partnership has been the addition of an internal sensor that provides data for the NFL’s Next Gen AWS statistics system.
When faced with the decision to build a new facility, Wilson evaluated several locations before choosing to remain in Ada. The company invested $15 million in an 80,000-square-foot manufacturing center, preserving its skilled craftsman workforce. Employees moved into the new factory in May 2024.
Viewers can see the Wilson-made Super Bowl football in action Feb. 8 on NBC Lima during Super Bowl 60.
