GHC Thematic Report: What Will Football's New "Disneyland" Signal for Northeast Ohio?
Last month, developers broke ground on the second phase of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Hall of Fame Village (HOFV) in Canton, Ohio.
Following the completion of the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Phase II will be highlighted by the Constellation Center for Excellence – a 75,000 square-foot office building that will be utilized for various research and programming initiatives.
Phase II will also include additional renovations to the stadium that will create gathering areas for dining and drinking, similar to recent updates made to Progressive Field and Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in downtown Cleveland.
The overall vision for Hall of Fame Village signals a promising future for Canton and Northeast Ohio, led by the President and CEO of Hall of Fame Resorts and Entertainment Company, Michael Crawford.
After going public with the company (NASDAQ: HOFV) earlier this year, Crawford maintains a long-term plan of diversifying the revenue portfolio through the creation of “a world-class sports, entertainment and media enterprise that includes youth sports, e-sports, fantasy football, themed destinations, and more.”
The development of the new HOFV will ultimately drive consumer engagement through recreational and corporate activities, with hopes to bring hundreds of millions of dollars to the local and regional economy.
Bill Krueger, whose company performed an economic impact study about the project, told The Canton Repository in 2015 the development could be a “game changer” for not only “our local and regional economy, but all of Northeast Ohio.”
“It’s rare that you have a chance to work with the most popular sport in America as intellectual property to build an experience around,” said Crawford in an interview with News 5 Cleveland.
Crawford, who spent 25 years at the Walt Disney Company and headed the development of the Shanghai Disney Resort, believes the value proposition of Hall of Fame Village is very powerful.
“Disneyland in California is 500 acres of land. We have 600 acres of land here,” Crawford said. “No one ever thought Anaheim, California in the middle of orange groves is going to turn into this phenomenal mecca of leisure tourism. I’d say the same thing about Canton, Ohio.”
For the future of Canton and Northeast Ohio, this exciting development will provide a boost to the region’s economy and set in motion other expansion in the area. If the Pro Football Hall of Fame can bring hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment to Canton, along with millions of annual visitors, it could have a transformative effect on the region.