The College Football HOF will hold its "grand opening" on Aug. 23, the "weekend before the start of the 2014 season," according to Tim Tucker of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. HOF President & CEO John Stephenson said that construction on the $68M, 94,000-square-foot facility will be completed by Aug. 1, allowing "time for test runs before the opening." The official name of the museum will be the College Football HOF and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience after the Atlanta-based QSR "signed a 30-year marketing agreement." Financial terms of the deal were not announced, but Stephenson called Chick-fil-A the "largest contributor to the building." There are four other "founding sponsors" -- AT&T, Coca-Cola, Kia and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 7/11). There will be "various galleries at the attraction ... named for those companies" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/10). In Georgia, Nicole Saavedra notes the HOF will "blend memorabilia with multimedia exhibits," including a "45-yard football field and interactive media wall." The exhibits will contain "500 pieces of football memorabilia." Stephenson said that the facility is "hoping to have 500,000 annual visitors" (ATHENS BANNER-HERALD, 7/11).
