The north stands of Tom Benson HOF Stadium "are nearly finished, but the bulk of the work remains" ahead of the upcoming Pro Football HOF enshrinement weekend, according to a front-page piece by Alison Matas of the Canton REPOSITORY. Next year, it is "expected there will be five times more construction happening" at the HOF Village campus. Pro Football HOF President & Exec Dir David Baker said, "This isn't even the beginning of the first quarter." Matas notes the HOF hosted a "topping off" ceremony on Thursday to "celebrate progress made on the stadium so far." The first phase of the stadium project, which broke ground in September, "is on schedule to be finished before" this summer's HOF weekend. The south side of the stadium -- including the press box -- "will be torn down in August and rebuilt, marking the second phase of construction" on the stadium. The 23,000-seat stadium is "one component of the larger eight-part," $500M HOF Village expansion, "most of which is targeted for completion" in '18 and '19. Welty Building Co. President & CEO Don Taylor, whose company is constructing the venue, jokingly said that he "has '32 billionaires' looking over his shoulder to make sure the project finishes when it's supposed to" (Canton REPOSITORY, 4/8). In Akron, Jim MacKinnon notes Baker "ticked off a list of remaining work to be done in time for this year’s induction program: a retaining wall, new stadium light poles and also painting." Baker said that new synthetic turf -- "actually turf taken up from the Superdome in New Orleans -- is scheduled to be installed May 16." Baker added that once complete, the stadium "will actually be a small-venue NFL stadium designed to host other entertainment such as musical acts" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 4/8).
