GARY STOKAN "stepped down Monday as president and CEO of Atlanta Hall Management, the organization created to build and operate" Atlanta's proposed College Football HOF, according to Tim Tucker of the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION. The move was "attributed to Stokan's responsibilities as president of the Chick-fil-A Bowl -- a position he will retain -- and the proposed hall's need for full-time leadership." Atlanta Hall Management BOD Chair STEVE ROBINSON "predicted a new CEO will be hired within 30 days and said he remains convinced the attraction will be built." But Stokan's departure "adds to the uncertainties about the project, which has struggled to raise funds in a difficult economy." After originally "aiming for an August ground-breaking this year and a 2013 spring opening, the targets were shifted to February next year and September 2013, respectively." Stokan last month said that $22M had been "committed by donors and sponsors and an additional $27.5 million had been lined up in bank financing, leaving another $20 million needed from donors and sponsorship sales before the Hall of Fame could break ground." Stokan had been the "driving force and public face of the project since first broaching the idea seven years ago." Stokan said that a CEO with "expertise in fund-raising and construction will be better equipped to lead the project from this point" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 11/8). Stokan said that "essentially he'd been doing two jobs, and needed to focus on the Chick-fil-A Bowl and its related events." He said, "The Chick-fil-A Bowl is a $25 million business that we've grown from a $5 million business when I came here." He added that his vision for Atlanta "becoming the college football capital of the country has not changed, but his focus needed to stay with the Chick-fil-A Bowl" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 11/7).
