Canton council approves $5 million loan to Hall of Fame Village

CANTON – City Council voted Monday to approve a $5 million loan to pay for infrastructure improvements at the Hall of Fame Village.

But council also voted unanimously to amend the resolution to make disbursement of the loan to Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Co. contingent on the Stark County commissioners also approving a $5 million loan for the same purpose.

More: Canton City Council creates HOF Village entertainment district

The company already has received a $5 million loan from the Stark County Community Redevelopment Fund. The George H. Deuble Foundation, Hoover Foundation, Stark Community Foundation and Timken Foundation established the fund in 2019, and it's now overseen by Stark Community Foundation.

Council members Louis Giavasis, D-At Large, and Peter Ferguson, D-8, were not present. Council member Kevin Hall, D-6, abstained, apparently because he's a foreman for contractor Abbott Electric, which says it's done work for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

No one expressed opposition to the loan at the meeting. But Mayor Tom Bernabei, a former Stark County commissioner, made it clear that the city was not loaning the money if the county declined to do so.

Under the terms of the loan, Hall of Fame Village is expected to repay the $15 million in loans over seven years at an interest rate of 6%.

Making a pitch for money for Hall of Fame Village

In a letter to Bernabei, Hall of Fame Resort President and CEO Michael Crawford said Hall of Fame Village needed the $15 million to continue to fund the next phase of the project, an entertainment complex with a hotel and water park by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A presentation provided to Bernabei said that banks would normally not finance infrastructure improvements because the entity was a young company and the assets would not directly generate revenue.

Crawford, in his pitch, said that the development would result in tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue and thousands of jobs that would benefit the city and county.

The first phase of the project involved the renovation of Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium and construction of youth athletic fields at a cost of $250 million. The second phase involves the renovation of the downtown Canton DoubleTree by Hilton at a cost of $30 million; completing the end zones of the stadium; the recent construction of the Constellation Center for Excellence by the stadium; and building the Center for Performance, Fan Engagement Zone retail promenade and Play Action Plaza. A 180-room hotel and water park would be built later.

The $5 million loan will be funded by the city's economic development fund, which is supported by a half-percent income tax approved by voters in 2018. The increase as of 2019 raised nearly $12 million a year, with 60% of that revenue legally required to go into the fund.

Willig Field Complex getting turf infields

In other business, council by an 8-2 vote approved $2.3 million in federal American Rescue Plan funding for upgrades at Willig Field Complex at 2300 30th Street NE. That includes $2 million to convert all of the softball and baseball infields from grass to turf.

Doug Foltz, director of Canton Parks and Recreation, said this would allow teams to continue to play in light rain as even some rain makes the current grass unsafe to play on. Also, $300,000 would pay for an additional restroom facility.

Council members Frank Morris, D-9, and Brenda Kimbrough, D-2, voted against the funding. Morris questioned how much local residents would get to use the upgraded fields, as the new turf infields seemed to be for the use of travel teams.

Foltz said that many local teams would be able to use the improved fields. Council member Chris Smith, D-4, said she would vote for the funding for Willig Field. But she said she expects in the future that council would fund other needs in Canton's neighborhoods with American Rescue Plan dollars.

Bernabei said the city was allocated $65 million in American Rescue Plan funding by the U.S. Treasury Department through the funding approved by Congress in March 2021. And slightly more than half has been committed to projects.

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. Twitter: @rwangREP. 

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton council approves $5 million loan for HOF Village