NFL owners today voted to give up to $10M to the Pro Football HOF Village, the league's first direct investment in the project. The NFL still must complete due diligence, a source said, but owners authorized staff to move forward. The $900M HOF Village is currently preparing to begin work on its second, $268M phase. The project has encountered delays and difficulty in financing, but officials now say the second phase will begin in early '20. HOF Village CEO Mike Crawford said the NFL’s direct involvement will help convince other possible investors. “While you think the number, in terms of the scale of what we’re investing now, isn’t as significant, just as with any other big investor, it promotes confidence in others.”
Details of the NFL’s contribution are still to be determined. The HOF Village, a joint venture of Industrial Realty Group and the HOF itself, expects to complete a transaction Dec. 16 to go public via merger with Gordon Pointe Acquisition Corp. The second phase includes two hotels, a field house/convention center, an office building, retail space and an indoor water park. Six NFL owners and Commissioner Roger Goodell sit on the HOF’s Board of Trustees.
