A statue of Saints Owner Tom Benson will be erected in a fan plaza outside Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in the wake of his $11M donation to the renovation project at the Pro Football HOF, marking the "largest individual gift in Hall history," according to Todd Porter of the Canton REPOSITORY. The Bensons "want a plaque inside the stadium to honor John Fawcett, for whom the stadium was originally named." Work will begin on Benson Stadium "early in September." Stadium renovations are "the first part of Hall of Fame Village," a $475M project that was "born from needed renovations to the former Fawcett Stadium." NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has "seen initial renderings that have the Hall’s campus lit up in a night-time rendering." He said, "I don’t think it was as much the pictures as much as it is the vision that [Pro Football HOF President] David Baker and his team have laid out. It is something we think is exciting, and has many connections to what we’re trying to do as a league. We think we can help make this an even better vision by assisting in any way." Porter noted Benson Stadium will have $80M worth of work "over the next two years." Hall of Fame Village "calls for a full-service hotel and conference center, Hall of Fame NFL Experience (a sort of NFL theme park with rides), a Center for Excellence, youth fields, enhancements to the Hall of Fame Museum, mixed-use retail and residential space and more." Of Benson’s donation, $10M has "been earmarked for the remodeling of Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium," and $1M "for the Legends Landing portion of the Village project." That is an area that will "house former players of the NFL who are in need of housing and health care" (Canton REPOSITORY, 8/8).
