The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, is a pretty special place if you’re an NFL fan. People make pilgrimages from all over the country to pay homage to their favorite players and legends of the game. It’s also a great place to learn about the history of the game.
Or so I’ve been told.
You see, despite growing up less than a half hour away, I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never actually been inside.
Sure I’ve driven by it dozens and dozens of times, often on the way to watch my high school sports teams play regional tournament games at the nearby Canton Memorial Fieldhouse. Or more recently, to fly out of the super convenient Akron-Canton Airport.
Now, truth be told, I always thought that the museum seemed liked it was sort of crammed in between I-77 and Fawcett Stadium, almost like it was an afterthought. So I was pleasantly surprised to read about the plans for a new campus to be called the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village, which is supposed to be the first ever sports and entertainment “smart city.” It sounds pretty impressive.
One of the key features of the HOF campus, of course, will be a new 4-star football-themed upscale hotel.
Pro Football Hall of Fame hotel to be a Curio by Hilton
Curio Collection hotels tend to be some of Hilton’s more boutique properties that can have a style of their own. Given that this will be a one-of-a-kind football themed property, it makes a lot of sense for it to slot into the Curio brand.
The hotel, which broke ground last month, will have some pretty impressive amenities. There will be several restaurants including a Shula’s steakhouse — thank goodness it’s not an Elway’s — a farm-to-table restaurant, and a lounge in the lobby. And a 25,000 square foot conference center.
From the looks of the concept pictures on Cleveland.com, the lobby will feature football yard lines on the floors, class football photos on the walls, and of course motivational slogans on the walls like you might find in the tunnel on your way to the locker room. In other words, it seems like it will be a fairly consistent experience as you move from the newly renovated Tom Benson HOF Stadium (sorry, I’ll probably still call it Fawcett Stadium), to the museum, and over to the hotel.
Pro Football Hall of Fame hotel, a Curio by Hilton (photo from Cleveland.com)
The hotel will have 243 rooms and is supposed to open in the summer of 2019 as part of the 107-acre, $600 million complex. No word yet on how many suites it will have or what the upgrade possibilities will be like for this lowly Hilton Gold…
Johnson Controls Pro Football Hall of Fame Village (photo from Cleveland.com)
Bottom line
The new Curio by Hilton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton looks pretty awesome. I’m glad to see northeast Ohio getting another great attraction. I’ll be excited to check out the hotel when it finally opens and perhaps make my first visit to the HOF itself.
Are you excited about the new Curio by Hilton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
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