Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Co (HOFV)

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HOFV - $60- per share !!

https://www.crainscleveland.com/kevin-kleps-blog/fantasy-sports-betting-and-esports-are-key-ventures-company-owns-hall-fame-village

SPORTS BUSINESS
August 07, 2020 12:23 PM
Fantasy sports, betting and esports are key ventures for company that owns Hall of Fame Village project


Phase II of the Hall of Fame Village project in Canton call for a waterpark and premium hotel being built on the grounds that also house the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
As the birthplace of the NFL and the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Canton's "real" football ties are about as strong as it gets.

Soon, the city will be the headquarters of a unique fantasy football league that aims to have thousands of investors who buy shares in franchises that are run by fantasy professionals.

Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co., which owns the mega-project on the grounds of the Hall of Fame, announced Thursday, Aug. 6, that it had completed its acquisition of The Crown League. The move comes almost two months after HOFV said it had acquired a majority stake in The Crown League.

Prior to the HOFV acquisition, The Crown League had filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission for 11 teams. The clubs would be located in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Florida, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New England, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle and Texas.


At the time, The Crown League said a 12th club would be determined by a contest. With HOFV now involved, it would stand to reason that one of the 12 teams would be based in Canton or Cleveland.

The early plans, prior to HOFV's involvement, called for 95,000 shares of common stock, at $60 per share, to be sold for each franchise.

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The team owners, which would include the stockholders, would delegate the decision-making to fantasy experts who will serve as general managers.

How much that changes now that HOFV owns the unique startup remains to be seen, but the idea — a keeper league format with thousands of fans backing one team — is intriguing to fantasy fanatics like us. (Whether or not enough fantasy fans would be willing to delegate control of the rosters is another matter.)

In a news release announcing the completion of The Crown League acquisition Thursday, HOFV said the league was expected to launch in time for the 2021 season. Pro football legends, in addition to the fantasy gurus, will be involved, which is a natural tie-in for a league based in Canton.

Details about franchise structures and brand identities will be revealed in the coming months, HOFV said.

Crown League co-founder Mat Sposta will oversee the new platform's operations, and co-founder Derek Siskin will be the chief creative officer. The pair will be "supported by an executive management team with an extensive expertise in growing, activating and monetizing brands," HOFV said.

Fantasy sports, in addition to sports betting and esports, are key verticals for HOFV as it gets set to start construction on Phase II of the project. The $300 million second phase features plans for an indoor waterpark, two premium hotels, a center for excellence, a fieldhouse and convention center, and a retail promenade.


The Crown League could be another vehicle to attract fans to Hall of Fame Village. The same goes for sports betting, should Ohio follow through with plans to legalize and regulate the industry, and esports.

"We want to be where football fans are engaging with the sport," HOFV president and CEO Michael Crawford told us last month. "Not everybody is a world-class athlete. They're not out on the field. But it doesn't mean they don't love football and it doesn't mean that they don't engage with it."

Crawford added that sports betting is "no longer this ugly thing where you have to go look for a bookie." The HOFV chairman said he'd love if the 600-acre location in Canton could serve as "a test site" for Ohio.

He also thinks it's possible to build a fantasy league "that engages communities of fans," rather than the traditional format in which a group of friends compete with each other for bragging rights (and likely money).

"We could have these teams where people buy into the team and engage with the best fantasy league players drafting their team, the general manager, complement them with Hall of Famers and some of the best players to ever play the game, or even coaches, for subject matter expertise," Crawford said.

He envisions fantasy drafts being held in Canton each year, with events planned around the drafts.


"I get really excited about the potential for what we can create there with our brands, with our athletes, our Hall of Famers, and I think it's going to be a pretty special opportunity to monetize for our company as well," Crawford said.

And when it comes to esports, Crawford said he could see HOFV employing "some of the same skills we use in running youth sports and tournaments and creating games and virtual games between the best in class from the '70s and '80s and '90s and the 2000s, and really creating unique product that leverages our brands and our partnerships to get into a world where people love playing the gaming portion of this.

"Madden Football," he added, "is one of the most popular games out there. So you could see tournaments and new games developed out of this. So that's an exciting vertical."

You can follow me on Twitter for sports information and analysis, and you should check out our recent piece on HOFV's $900 million plan.