The Pro Football Hall of Fame is Building a ‘Disneyland’ for the Sport
Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Co. President and CEO Michael Crawford
By Jarrett Banks
Former Disney executive and current President and CEO of Hall of Fame Resort and Enternatainment Co. Michael Crawfordknows that the impact of COVID-19 will be hard to ignore. But the man who led the development of the Shanghai Disney Resort believes that the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio is a product that can weather any storm. Crawford is sticking with his long-term plan ofdiversifying the revenue portfolio by creating the Hall of Fame Village Powered by Johnson Controls, a world-class sports, entertainment and media enterprise that includes youth sports, e-sports, fantasy football, themed destinations and more.
In early July, the company that owned the Hall of Fame Village Powered by Johnson Controls merged with a special purpose acquisitions company or SPAC, creating the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co. (NASDAQ: HOFV). In an interview with IPO Edge, Crawford said as a public company, it now has access to a wider universe of investors and can benefit from greater liquidity as well as access to multiple forms of financing. In addition, the company will be honoring football heroes with more than just a golden jacket — it will also build a premium housing complex for them called Legends Landing. The full interview is below:
IPO Edge: Why should investors invest in HOFV?
We are the only company that provides investors the rare opportunity to invest in a business that directly benefits from the popularity of professional football. Working alongside the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the NFL Alumni Association we are committed to the future growth of the game by improving player safety, education and training at all levels. We have a diversified business model, which affords us the ability to benefit from multiple revenue streams through different verticals, and our leadership team is comprised of highly experienced and qualified individuals. Having spent 25 years at the Walt Disney Company and several years with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, I immediately recognized the company’s potential and look forward to advancing our well-defined business plan.
IPO Edge: How do you expect crowds to return to the HOF stadium post-COVID?
With caution, of course, but also with the same passion for the game and desire to play or watch games or concerts and events at a premier stadium. We continue to work closely with state and city officials and our operational partners, ASM Global and AVI Foodsystems, to ensure our stadium is in accordance with and exceeding all national and local health measures so that when our fans return, they can enjoy the thrills of football and events in a safe environment. We have been proactive about this so that we will be prepared to host sporting and other activities at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium as soon as possible. If fans are slow to return, we will have multiple diverse, yet integrated business verticals – strategic sponsorships and partnerships, fantasy sports, eSports, youth sports, etc. –that should help us to drive revenue opportunities and increased brand awareness. In other words, our long-term business plans remains the same.
IPO Edge: What other ways are they going to monetize the business beyond attendance?
To fully appreciate all that our company has to offer, you have to look at it as an entertainment business built on the popularity of professional football that is not solely reliant on travel to the Hall of Fame Village Powered by Johnson Controls. We have a multi-dimensional business model that helps protect us from risk to any one of our diverse revenue streams. In the immediate term, we are focused on completing the renovation of our Hilton Double Tree property in Downtown Canton, advancing Phase II of constructing the Hall of Fame Village, and using our one-of-a-kind affiliation with professional football to generate additional sponsorship and event opportunities. Another component to our strategy involves further capitalizing on the growth of youth sports tourism and leveraging our direct access live sporting events as well as millions of pieces of unique media content in the Pro Football Hall of Fame archives. Utilizing this access, we are well positioned to create and develop original content – full-length feature films, documentaries, family programming, live and taped television specials, etc. – that can be monetized and distributed across multiple distribution channels. We are creating a horizontally integrated sports-driven company based on the most popular sport in America – and we think this is a very powerful value proposition.
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Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company to Present at "The Emergence of SPACs as a Mainstream IPO Vehicle" Webinar Hosted by Maxim Group on July 27th, 2020
is it really over?? Look at Stuart Lichter's filing from 7/1, which was posted 7/7. "..warrants was cancelled and exchanged for a warrant to purchase 1.421333 shares of the Issuer's common stock at a price of $8.09100 per share of the Issuer's common stock." Guess what that math is if you multiple that by the 1.42... number? $11.50
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