Hall of Fame Resort makes financial cuts, staff restructuring

CANTON – Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co. President and CEO Michael Crawford has agreed to take a $50,000 annual pay cut for the next four years as part of a restructuring and staff cuts.

Crawford outlined the changes in a letter last week to shareholders, writing "we are evaluating how we can be efficient and responsible with shareholder dollars and the current staffing changes will result in significant labor savings."

Michael Levy, president of operations at the Hall of Fame Village, the football-themed entertainment attraction being built around the Pro Football Hall of Fame, also will leave the company effective May 5, according to a notice filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The letter and SEC filing didn't name other employees affected.

"Given the current uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment, we decided as a leadership team to proactively make changes to allow us to build upon the company’s progress and continued transformation as a world-class sports and entertainment destination, as well as a media and gaming company," Crawford wrote.

What does the Hall of Fame Village CEO make?

His base salary will be $900,000 this year and $925,000 next year, according to the SEC filing. His salary hasn't been determined for 2024 or 2025.

During a prescheduled telephone interview Monday with The Canton Repository on another subject, Crawford addressed the financial cuts.

"We're always looking at our business model," he said. "We're always looking at refining and ensuring that resources are placed where they have the biggest, best use, and those are decisions that we continue to make.

"... And I think the good news is, when you look at our track record and performance over the last couple years … these have been … really difficult years," Crawford said of economic conditions. "I know everybody likes to forget them, but we're still in them."

Crawford didn't reveal the number or extent of the cuts and restructuring.

"For me, it's important as a company and even myself to ensure for our shareholders that we're being smart about what we're doing, how we're doing it, and constantly growing and in an environment where growth is difficult for a lot of companies," he said. "I just saw Disney, my former company, announced big layoffs again, second round, and so we're not in that boat, but we always want to be smart about how we spend our shareholder money and where it positions us for growth."

Michael Crawford letter to shareholders by Rick Armon on Scribd

Big plans ahead for Canton's Hall of Fame Village

The financial cuts come about nine months after the city of Canton and Stark County commissioners each agreed to provide $5 million loans to Hall of Fame Resort for infrastructure improvements. They also come after the long-anticipated destination has seemed to gather momentum.

Don Shula's American Kitchen and a giant Ferris wheel-style ride have opened at the property. The Hall of Fame Village also nabbed home games for the USFL's Pittsburgh Maulers and New Jersey Generals this season, and hosted games Sunday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. It also has announced a comedy show with superstar Kevin Hart on May 18.

In December, the Hall of Fame Village broke ground on a roughly $117 million football-themed indoor water park.

"We're not going to start building something unless we have the financing in place to build it," Crawford said at an event celebrating the start of the water park project. "We got the financing closed in early November. We're now standing here in early December breaking ground, so we're excited about that."

At the same event, the executive said the Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Co. had raised $180 million in new financing in 2022, on top of $130 million previously raised.

Construction has not started yet on a 180-room Hilton Tapestry hotel next to the water park.

During a fourth quarter earnings conference call late last month for the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co., Crawford said that plans are being drawn up for phase three of the development.

"We're not done with creating physical assets," he said. "... We've hired a master planner to do phase three − phase three is now literally being planned, so look for updates on that in the months to come."

Hall of Fame Resort also received permission from shareholders to conduct a reverse stock split last year because it was in jeopardy of having its stock delisted by Nasdaq. The stock exchange has a policy of delisting or removing any stock priced at less than $1 for an extended period of time. The Hall of Fame Village stock had been under $1 a share for much of last year. (This story has been updated to fix an error. See correction below. 10:30 a.m. April 26.)

The stock was trading at $8.34 Monday afternoon.

Crawford on Monday referenced a letter that he wrote directly to shareholders in the SEC filing about "the macro economic impact of what every company is facing."

Economic challenges continue in the face of inflation and a "recessionary indication," he said.

"And I think it's always incumbent upon us as a leadership team, or any company that is a company that is strategic about how they run their business, to think about the cost and the resources that you have, ensuring that you're putting the resources where they should be."

"And I'll just call it the support in the organization where it's going to serve you best," Crawford said. "And so, clearly we make decisions based on how how we're growing our company and where things are going."

CORRECTION: The Hall of Fame Resort did a reverse stock split late last year because it was in jeopardy of having its stock delisted by Nasdaq. The type of split was incorrect when this story first published.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment announces financial cuts