NFL-Backed Canton Project Stalls After $300 Million Revival Promise
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 8
NFL-Backed Canton Project Stalls After $300 Million Revival Promise
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 8
Summary
$5,000 investor Ryan Spurgeon got back only pennies on the dollar after the Hall of Fame Village developer sank into debt and went private.
The project, unveiled in 2014 as a football-themed entertainment district beside the Pro Football Hall of Fame, lost momentum after an initial burst of construction and left major pieces unfinished.
Visible off Interstate 77, piles of dirt and a half-built indoor water park became symbols of a plan that was supposed to remake Canton, a city of 70,000.
A 2015 study commissioned by the Hall and local business leaders had projected as many as 13,000 jobs and more than $300 million in new tax revenue, underscoring how far the effort fell short.