The steel structure for a new 23,000-seat football stadium that will be part of the $500 million, 90-acre Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio, should be visible to travelers on Interstate 77 by next Christmas.
The old stadium’s north and south stands have been demolished, and the press box—which was built in 2009—will meet the wrecking ball next week, to be replaced by a larger area for media.
The new facility, called Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium and formerly known as Fawcett Stadium, is on schedule to be completed in time for next year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement festival, although some elements won’t be completed until 2018. The stadium’s cost alone is projected to exceed $80 million.
Tom Benson, who owns the New Orleans Saints pro football team, has donated $11 million to the Hall of Fame, nearly all of it earmarked for the stadium reconstruction. The state is kicking in $10 million, and the city of Canton $5 million for the new stadium. The Canton City Schools owns the stadium, but will only be on the hook for its maintenance.
HKS’s Sports and Entertainment Group is the stadium’s designer, working with clients Industrial Realty Group and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The 76-year-old Fawcett Stadium has been a high school field. Its ticket booths are among the artifacts being preserved for future display within the Village.
This fall, construction begins on the Hall of Fame Village that will involve between 400 and 500 workers.
There are eight components to Hall of Fame Village, according to its website:
•The Pro Football Hall of Fame Museum
•Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium/Sports & Entertainment Complex, which will include a first-of-its-kind permanent stage that will be embedded into the stadium’s seating bowl and located at midfield. The field is being lowered by 12 feet to accommodate a fan plaza that connects to the Hall of Fame museum.
•A four-star Hotel & Conference Center
•Legends Landing/Residential (an assisted living facility, some of which could be housing for retired pro football players)
•A state-of-the-art Youth Sports Complex, which is already underway
•Center for Excellence (Coaches University; Academy of Corporate Excellence; Officiating Clinics; Safety, Health & Performance Center)
•Main Street Hall of Fame (restaurants, retail)
•Hall of Fame/NFL Family Experience (high-tech virtual reality experiences and rides)
An economic feasibility study indicates that Hall of Fame Village will create more than 13,000 new jobs, and over a 25-year period will generate $15.3 billion in net new total economic output within Stark County, Ohio.
Related Stories
| Sep 30, 2011
Design your own floor program
Program allows users to choose from a variety of flooring and line accent colors to create unique floor designs to complement any athletic facility.
| Sep 16, 2011
Largest solar installation completed at Redskins' football stadium
On game days, solar power can provide up to 20% of FedExField’s power.
| Sep 12, 2011
First phase of plan to revitalize Florida's Hialeah Park announced
This is the first project of a master plan developed to revive the historic racetrack.
| May 25, 2011
Olympic site spurs green building movement in UK
London's environmentally friendly 2012 Olympic venues are fuelling a green building movement in Britain.
| Apr 11, 2011
Wind turbines to generate power for new UNT football stadium
The University of North Texas has received a $2 million grant from the State Energy Conservation Office to install three wind turbines that will feed the electrical grid and provide power to UNT’s new football stadium.
| Apr 5, 2011
U.S. sports industry leads charge in meeting environmental challenges
The U.S. sports industry generates $414 billion annually. The amount of energy being consumed is not often thought of by fans when heading to the stadium or ballpark, but these stadiums, parks, and arenas use massive quantities of energy. Now sports leagues in North America are making a play to curb the waste and score environmental gains.
| Mar 25, 2011
Qatar World Cup may feature carbon-fiber ‘clouds’
Engineers at Qatar University’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering are busy developing what they believe could act as artificial “clouds,” man-made saucer-type structures suspended over a given soccer stadium, working to shield tens of thousands of spectators from suffocating summer temperatures that regularly top 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
| Mar 11, 2011
University of Oregon scores with new $227 million basketball arena
The University of Oregon’s Matthew Knight Arena opened January 13 with a men’s basketball game against USC where the Ducks beat the Trojans, 68-62. The $227 million arena, which replaces the school’s 84-year-old McArthur Court, has a seating bowl pitched at 36 degrees to replicate the close-to-the-action feel of the smaller arena it replaced, although this new one accommodates 12,364 fans.
