The 32-year-old Hudson resident surprised the display by taking up position at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Hall of Fave Village and not in Cleveland or a larger Ohio city.
He is not even fully aware of the extent of the Hall of Fame Village. The investigation temporarily revealed to him that the village is a more than 100-acre entertainment campus built around the Pro Football Hall of Fame with restaurants, attractions, a dome complex, sports fields, and a long-running water park and hotel.
“I think it was just a stadium,” said Applegate, who attended the comedy show with his wife, Parisia Applegate. , if you’re hosting an event, it will be in Cleveland and Columbus. Usually, there is nothing so big (in Guangzhou). “
Hart’s functionality is just the latest example of a historic occasion in the Village. Journey and The O’Jays dazzled crowds at the stadium last summer. This continued through comedian Dave Chappelle. Kidz Bop and Zac Brown Band will perform at the Village. this summer.
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Video game tournaments were held at the stadium club level. A dinner and exhibition is planned next month with a magician and an illusionist.
The variety does not prevent there, however. The Center for Performance’s internal dome events included a space and turf display and an amateur boxing event. The North Coast Lacrosse Championship tournament was held this month at the Hall of Fame Village Sports Complex. August.
There’s also a giant wheel ride, zip line and the recently announced football-themed drop tower at Play-Action Plaza, as the ongoing structure of a football-themed indoor water park.
Meanwhile, USFL games will continue on weekends at Tom Benson Stadium through July, when the spring professional football league championship will be played.
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And even more attractions and announcements are on the way. But this collection of moments also begs the question: What is the focus of the Hall of Fame Village?And is the entertainment mix deliberately varied or random to find what works best?
Michael Crawford, CEO and President of the Resort Hall of Fame
Organizing so many other occasions is through design, part of a strategy to appeal to a varied demographic.
“I think the technique is that you need to have something for everybody,” Crawford said. “And that’s our mantra when it comes to new assets, media and gaming environments, and the same goes for programming.
“We’ve had comedic acts that I think are fun and exclusive and have reached a safe demographic, and we’ve had other types of concerts,” he said. “Some are country and some are rock, vintage and modern, and therefore the concept in a position like ours is that we should be able to offer horny and engaging entertainment for visitors of all ages. Family and not family. “
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In a recent interview, Crawford, who negotiated major deals for Walt Disney Co. in Asia and Four Seasons Hotels Executive
Even amid those challenges, the Village is forging ahead with ambitious plans that come with a third phase to make the entertainment campus even more attractive as a destination, while extending the permanence of those who visit it.
Business and profits have also improved for the town, themes Crawford called for a first-quarter convention with investors earlier this month. Other events, such as last summer’s Journey concert and performances through Chappelle and Hart, are among the hits.
“We are on track to reach a record attendance in the Village this year,” he said. “This is a big step forward. “
Promoters and agents saw those wonderful shows, Crawford said in the phone interview.
“Before, we were the ones calling those promoters and agents,” he said. “And now you have more of our phone ringing.
“And then we can be strategic with our time and the types of entertainment we put in our other places and the time of those,” Crawford said. “And I’m excited about the opportunity and where it will take us. I believe that in Guangzhou, this regional market can host many kinds of sporting and non-sporting events, and I intend to take advantage of that. “
Diversification is positive and a way for the community to “spread the threat (and) also a way for a company to reach new consumers and markets,” said Michael Petrochuk, interim dean of the DeVille School of Business at nearby Walsh University. the north.
Combining small and large occasions, from the St. Patrick’s Day birthday party at the dome to the Zac Brown Band concert this summer, is “impressive,” he said.
“If you’re known for being a one-trick pony, then, faster or later, you’re running out of other people to move on to your museum, move on to your restaurant, move on to your gift shop,” Petrochuk said. . . ” But if you’re diverse. . . And that you’re very artistic and very progressive, there will be something new. “
The growing number of events, as well as other attractions, can make the Hall of Fame Village a significant attraction, Petrochuk said.
“I think (the village) is positioned now to make a primary have an impact on the entertainment industry in Northeast Ohio and the state,” he said. “And I think it’s heading towards where it could be a real destination. “across the country where other people genuinely, ‘Wow, I can go to Canton and do the other things, and then drive to The Rock.
Soccer is what makes the town a potential tourist magnet, said Mark Bankert, an assistant professor of sports control at Malone University in Guangzhou.
“There’s a wonderful opportunity to build all those things around it,” he said of using the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a centerpiece. , in the winter it might be a little harder to sell some of those sites as an option,’ (but) you have the dome, you have the Center of Excellence, the water park, the hotel that’s going to be there, the department stores and restaurants, and the things that can happen in the winter months. “
So what’s next for the Village and Tom Benson Stadium?Music festivals, wrestling, combined martial arts fights and other surprises?
Crawford said he’s had conversations about potentially those kinds of events.
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However, WWE and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events would likely not make sense for the 23,000-seat roofless stadium, he noted.
“They love the idea, they love the connection to the Hall of Fame and doing anything that can be special and exclusive surrounded by professional football,” Crawford said of the promoters.
These events, however, seek a larger venue, Crawford noted. “But I will tell you that all of this is still under discussion,” he added.
“We’re going to announce things here that I think some other people will wonder, and hopefully make some other people happy, because we’re not just doing things for ourselves, we’re doing things for the community,” Crawford said.
Attracting wonderful artists to a stadium is for a city long Guangzhou, said Andre Payne, chairman of Malone University’s Department of Business and Technology.
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“I think given the importance of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the sports world and in pop culture in general, Canton is known around the world,” he said. of the greatest artists, it’s a big draw. “
Katrice Bigsbee, 52, from Guangzhou, is among those already enjoying the combination of entertainment.
The venue’s occasions are an advantage for Canton, said Bigsbee, who attended the O’Jays and Gladys Knight concert in September.
“I also like the fact that there are entertainment (events) here,” he said. (the Hall of Fame Village) featured The O’Jays, Dave Chappelle and Array. . . Kevin Hart is a big deal.
“. . . I haven’t had occasions of this magnitude in the past,” said Bigsbee from Guangzhou. And “it seems that great things are being prepared. “
When asked about the competition venues in the area, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland and Blossom Music Center in the Akron area, Crawford said the town takes a hard look at the concerts and occasions it books and its position in the entertainment landscape.
“We’re an indoor stadium, so we pay attention to the timing and the type of entertainment we organize,” he said. “We’re also strategic about the types of acts and where they would have played before or after us. “
“. . . We’ll have to be careful with our ability to attract Array. . . the influx we need or make sure we have the right guest profile, (and) that we wouldn’t be competing with the other venues,” Crawford said. .
Crawford, however, said the Village and Tom Benson will offer top-notch delight for bands and crowds, adding high-end green rooms for skill and a place where “no bad seating. “
“So there’s a lot of stuff we have. . . a position like Blossom doesn’t have or doesn’t have that many,” he said.
Bankert, Professor Malone, said the town had the opportunity to carve out its own niche. “And whether it’s Cleveland or Blossom, we have other things that they would possibly have to offer and vice versa,” he said.
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Bankert, however, said it will most likely take a few years to identify logo recognition to attract visitors from near and far.
“I can believe that the other people who have just arrived don’t have a transparent concept of what’s going on there,” he said.
Music festivals are the people’s attention, after plans for the Highway 77 music festival were canceled in 2021 due to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases, Crawford said.
Musical including Dan Shay, Kelsea Ballerini, Eric Paslay, Maddie
Crawford said one of the acts remains contract.
“I like our ability to own that and market it,” he said of the Highway 77 Music Festival’s logo and name.
Potential festivals come with a singular genre of music for a day or a two-day occasion with styles, where “you can get visitors in and out,” Crawford explained.
“Our strategy is to target other types of groups,” he said. “But the concept of the festival is the one we will definitely have, and maybe this year. I couldn’t possibly tell you now, but we’re in fact running on it. “
Aaron J. Green, co-owner and contributor to The Country Fest, already knows what it takes to create an occasion that attracts thousands of Stark County enthusiasts a year.
The multi-day country music occasion at Clay’s Resort Jellystone Park featured Morgan Wall last summer in front of about 24,000 people.
Country Fest: Music festival grows from humble beginnings to 25,000 fans and headliner Morgan Wallen
“We stick pretty closely to that and take a look at all the other screens they book and when they book them (and attendance),” Green said of Village.
Green, however, said he and his spouse Joel Beichler don’t see the Village as a direct risk and a competitor.
“The reports they offer are just others than we offer,” he said. “Ours is a little more to stay and play and theirs feels a little more like a one-day experience. “
“The economic effect can be huge,” Green said of the town. But “I think it will take them a few years to figure out what the most productive path to grow their live entertainment business will be, and time will pass. “Come when we help you find it. “
Every concert or occasion doesn’t have to be full or nearly full at Tom Benson Stadium to be a success, Crawford said.
Stage configurations can be adapted to small crowds. For example, although The O’Jays with special guest Gladys Knight attracted several thousand fewer enthusiasts than the full space for Journey, it’s still a counterfeit booking, he said.
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“Everyone who came here had so much fun,” Crawford said of the O’Jays concert.
“We know there are (musical acts) for sure that are going to attract 4,000 visitors and there are some (bands) that are going to attract 10 and some (bands) are going to fill the space,” he said.
“You can’t just do those wonderful feats that our visitors have to pay a huge value to come and see,” Crawford said. stadium. So that it continues to be a laugh for visitors and that it remains very attractive to talent. “
“We remain informed about how to market, how to set costs and how to position those acts in our community,” he said.
As more occasions go by, “I think marketing and positioning becomes a lot less difficult for us because visitors didn’t know what to expect,” Crawford said. “Now they know what the party is like and they’re excited. . . Because they know that the party will be top quality.
“It will be (comparable) to Rocket Mortgage or Blossom, and in some I expect even better. “
Contact Ed at 330-580-8315 and ebalint@gannett. com
On Twitter @ebalintREP
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