We’re pleased to share a Cleveland.com report on renewed momentum at Hall of Fame Village in Canton, where new financing and ownership are helping advance long-delayed development efforts. The article highlights progress on key components of the project, including the Gameday Bay indoor waterpark and an attached hotel — both central to extending visitation year-round. H&LA completed the original waterpark feasibility study for this project, and our president, David Sangree, was quoted on its potential to broaden Canton’s appeal as a destination.
Published by: Susan Glaser/Cleveland.com
Published date: January 2025
CANTON, Ohio – It’s been more than a decade since construction first started on an ambitious entertainment district surrounding the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Since then, the project, known as the Hall of Fame Village, has experienced more starts and stops than the last two minutes of an NFL game.
This week marked the latest restart, and community leaders are hopeful it will be the last.
“It’s been a roller coaster,” said Don Taylor, president and CEO of Welty Building Co., which has overseen construction at the site for most of the project. “It’s also been a marathon.”
But Taylor said he believes the long, complicated process will ultimately pay off.
“This is such a big thing for Canton and Stark County,” said Taylor, who also serves as board chair of Team NEO, the state’s private economic development arm. “We’re happy to be part of it.”
Financing plan clears path forward
Last week, the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co., parent company of Hall of Fame Village, announced it had completed a restructuring plan expected to provide funding for two of the project’s most critical components: the football-themed Gameday Bay indoor waterpark and an attached 180-room hotel.
The plan involved taking the company private and merging it with an affiliate of Industrial Realty Group (IRG), a national real estate development firm that is also the village’s master developer, led by Stuart Lichter. As a result, the village is now owned by HOFV Holdings LLC, an IRG affiliate.
According to Taylor, construction on the 120,000-square-foot indoor waterpark resumed this month and should be complete within 14 months.
Work on the hotel should begin by March, he said, and be done by summer 2027 – in time for the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement weekend.
The hotel will be the region’s first Tapestry Collection property, a boutique brand under Hilton.
The hotel and waterpark are considered critical to the long-term success of the village, which aims to entice visitors to extend their stays in Canton.
“It’s really good news for the region that we’ll have another exciting resort,” said David Sangree, president of Hotel & Leisure Advisors, a Cleveland hospitality consulting firm.
The waterpark and hotel will give visitors a year-round reason to visit. And increasing foot traffic should make it easier to fill vacancies in the complex’s retail space.
“It will be a great addition to the marketplace,” he said.
A vision with setbacks
The Hall of Fame Village concept was first introduced in 2014 by then-Pro Football Hall of Fame CEO David Baker, who envisioned turning Canton into the “Disneyland of football,” complete with hotels, restaurants, residences and entertainment.
From the outset, however, the for-profit village – which is separate from the adjacent nonprofit Pro Football Hall of Fame – has struggled financially, with high debt and insufficient revenue.
In 2020, the village went public, in hopes of raising capital for future construction. Instead, the stock price collapsed, falling from the equivalent of more than $200 a share in 2020 to less than $1 by the end of 2025.
Still, there have been some successes.
The first phase of the project included a renovated Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, which now hosts concerts, special events and marquee football match-ups. Nearby, eight athletic fields draw tens of thousands of young athletes and their families to town every year for soccer, lacrosse, football and other tournaments.
Other completed components of the Hall of Fame Village include the Center for Performance, a 100,000-square-foot dome-topped venue for athletic and consumer events, and the Constellation Center for Excellence, an office building.
The site also features restaurants and attractions including Brew Kettle and Topgolf Swing Suites, Gridiron Gastropub and Build-A-Bear Workshop, though several tenants — including Pizza Oven and Don Shula’s American Kitchen — have departed. Other attractions include a football-themed zipline, Ferris wheel, small amphitheater and walking paths.
Finishing the waterpark and hotel, however, has proven to be the most difficult hurdle.
Construction on the waterpark started in 2022 but was halted in 2024 after the company failed to pay contractors. Several firms, including Welty, filed nearly $12 million in mechanics liens for unpaid work.
A financial review by Wedbush Securities last spring found the company had never posted a profitable year and had accumulated nearly $300 million in debt by the end of 2024.
The report also revealed that the company had explored filing for bankruptcy, but determined it could not afford the associated costs.
In May last year, the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co. announced a merger agreement to take the company private. Shareholders approved the deal in late 2025, receiving 90 cents per share.
Village CEO Michael Crawford, a former Walt Disney Co. executive who was recruited in 2018 to lead the village, departed last spring. The company’s former vice president of human resources, Lisa Gould, is serving as interim CEO.
Anne Graffice, executive vice president of global marketing and public affairs for the village, said the move to private ownership gives the company greater flexibility.
“This next chapter reaffirms our renewed, long-term commitment to Canton and Stark County,” she said, declining to comment on specific construction timelines.
Taylor said Welty and other companies owed money were invited to join the new company as investors.
“We opted to take money we were owed from the original project and roll the money in as an investor,” he said, adding that not all firms chose that option.
Canton Mayor William V. Sherer II also said he supported the decision to take the company private, in part because the city has at least $8.5 million invested in the project. That includes $3.5 million for renovations to the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Canton and $5 million toward the village and waterpark.
Stark County and the state of Ohio have also invested in the village.
“I truly believe that by them going private, it’s the best step forward,” said Sherer, who added that he was not mayor when the city agreed to loan the project money.
Sherer acknowledged that the average Canton resident would probably have preferred that their tax money be used to pave their street.
Ultimately, though, he believes finishing the project is important for the city.
“There’s been a lot of noise and drama about the Hall of Fame Village over the years,” he said. “If they don’t finish it, it doesn’t put our community in a good position.”
He added, “I’m hopeful. I think it’s a positive thing for our community.”
