Future 50 Project announced

Pro Football Hall of Fame Announces Expansion/Renovation Plans

Plans for a major expansion and renovation of the Pro Football Hall of Fame were announced in December 2010 by the Hall of Fame’s Board of Trustees. The expansion and renovation project, the largest in the Hall of Fame’s history, will enable the museum to better preserve and present its ever-growing collection of historical artifacts and documents. It will also provide major enhancements to the visitor experience and accommodate the growing number of Hall of Fame guests, especially during the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival. 

The planning, design and construction will take nearly two years and will cost $27 million. The project has been dubbed the Future 50 Project because its completion, scheduled for 2013, will coincide with the Hall of Fame’s 50th Anniversary and constitute the foundation for success in the next 50 years.

The Future 50 Project calls for the Pro Football Hall of Fame to expand from 85,000 square feet to 118,000 square feet.  A major part of the expansion is a new 10,800 square-foot Pro Football Research and Preservation Center.  Additionally, 38,000 square feet of existing gallery space will be renovated, including a new grand entrance, lobby and visitor orientation theater.  When combined with renovations of recent years, the Future 50 Project will provide visitors with a completely new experience.  Also, a very important behind-the-scenes improvement is a new state-of-the-art environmental control system that will be installed throughout the facility to ensure the long-term preservation of the Hall of Fame’s priceless collection. 

“The growth and accomplishments of the Pro Football Hall of Fame during its first 50 years are widely acclaimed,” stated Pro Football Hall of Fame President/Executive Director, Steve Perry.  “It’s great that we are able to build upon the success of the past and initiate this major project to set the stage for success in the future,” he added.  “The completion of this project will assure the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s ability to properly preserve pro football’s historic artifacts and documents as well as solidify its position as America’s premier sports museum and showplace.”

{GALLERY}Planning for the Future 50 Project is well underway and the official groundbreaking is scheduled for August, 2011. The expansion and renovation plan includes:

A new Pro Football Research and Preservation Center – A 10,800-square-foot addition coupled with the renovation of an existing 6,000-square-foot space will enable the proper storage of the Hall of Fame’s comprehensive and growing collection of pro football artifacts, documents and archive materials relating to the history of pro football. In addition, the Research and Preservation Center will enhance the Hall of Fame’s ability to use the collection to educate the public about pro football, its origins, and its impact on society and to provide improved access to pro football researchers and historians. 

A new state-of-the-art, museum-quality environmental control system – This will provide the required level of precise control of temperature and humidity throughout the museum. 

A new entrance lobby – The main entrance to the Hall of Fame is being relocated to the center of the museum complex as part of the effort to minimize the infiltration of outside air as necessary to help control the temperature and humidity in the museum.  The new entrance will feature a two-story atrium that will dramatically enhance the visitor experience.

A complete renovation of the exhibition galleries located in the Hall of Fame’s original iconic two-story rotunda and adjacent exhibition gallery – This area, which was originally constructed in 1963, will be completely renovated and retrofitted with building vapor barriers to help assure proper temperature and humidity controls throughout the exhibition galleries. 

New indoor and outdoor event spaces – This includes a new addition to provide space for Hall of Fame special events and rental for private events.

“This is great news for football fans and for the northeast Ohio community. The Hall of Fame is continuing to grow and improve in so many ways. We are very excited about these ongoing Hall of Fame developments that enhance our game and its rich history.” – Greg Aiello, Senior Vice President of Public Relations, National Football League

Expanded museum retail store space – Existing space allocated to the museum store will grow from 4,000 square feet to 6, 000 square feet to accommodate a better layout of merchandise and to better serve customers.

New administration office space – This is necessary to accommodate the offices and administrative meeting spaces displaced by the new visitor orientation theater and expanded exhibit space.

Enhancements to the museum’s surrounding campus – This will include additional parking and expansion of outdoor event space, especially for the annual Enshrinement Festival events.

“The Pro Football Hall of Fame is an important national institution as well as an important part of the Canton community,” stated Hall of Fame Board of Trustees Chairman, Tom Schervish. “In addition to contributing to the community’s quality of life and pride, the Hall of Fame has a significant economic impact on the City of Canton, Stark County and the State of Ohio.  The Future 50 Project will not only have a positive impact the economy of the community in the short-term as funds are invested in this project, but also in the long-term as we enhance the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s appeal as a world-class travel destination,”  he offered. “The Board is confident that we will meet the challenge of completing this project while keeping the Hall of Fame open to the public and having no disruption to the annual Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival events because of the hard work of our dedicated staff and an excellent team of design and construction professionals.”

Westlake, Reed, Leskosky (WRL), founded in Cleveland is a nationally-recognized full-service, integrated architecture, engineering and technology design firm led the recently completed master planning and feasibility study and has been selected as the project Architect. WRL’s award-winning portfolio of work includes nearly a score of museum projects, 150-plus cultural centers, and 80-plus master plans and feasibility studies. 

Gallagher & Associates, one of the top exhibit design firms in the country will serve as the project’s exhibit and visitor experience designer. Gallagher has worked with WRL on a number of successful museum projects and recently completed the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Lamar Hunt Super Bowl Gallery.

Olivieri/Welty two well-known Northeast Ohio companies have partnered to serve as the project Construction Manager. 

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