Visit Canton opens welcome center at Hall of Fame Village with mural and souvenirs
CANTON − Visit Canton unveiled its new welcome center on Friday at the Hall of Fame Village.
Visit Canton, the Stark County Convention & Visitors Bureau, will still be based in downtown Canton, but the satellite site serves as a hub of information touting tourist attractions throughout the area.
The welcome center will sell products and items from Gervasi Vineyard, McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, and other shops, businesses and tourist sites.
Allyson Bussey, president and CEO of Visit Canton, said the new facility is located not far from a small building that served as the agency's former welcome center in the 1990s near the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Mural depicts Stark County icons, celebrities and history
This is also the first retail site for Visit Canton, she said, referring to the souvenirs for sale.
The tourism agency also unveiled a sprawling and colorful mural by Canton artist Tim Carmany featuring members of The O'Jays and other local images, including singer Macy Gray, football legends Paul Brown, Jim Thorpe and Marion Motley, Massillon Tigers and McKinley Bulldogs mascots, celebrity chef Alejandro Najar, Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Dan Dierdorf, the Lincoln Highway, Stark Parks, Gervasi Vineyards, Glamorgan Castle in Alliance, Canton Palace Theatre and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The mural was installed in panels collectively measuring roughly 28 feet long and eight feet high.
"It's great to have something indoors in a high visibility area with some well-known organizations like Visit Canton and Hall of Fame Village," Carmany said.
"We wanted to honor The O'Jays because they're kind of overlooked as Canton celebrities," he added.
The welcome center is in the Fan Engagement Zone, which features retail and restaurant components, including a Don Shula's American Kitchen, which is scheduled to open in March. Other tenants will include The Brew Kettle craft brewery, a Pizza Oven restaurant, Topgolf Swing Suite, Smoosh Cookies, Build-A-Bear Workshop and a BetRivers sports betting site, which is expected to open this summer.
More:First of its kind Don Shula restaurant to open in March at Hall of Fame Village
Last summer, the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co., developer of the Hall of Fame Village, announced that Visit Canton has signed a long-term lease for the 1,450-square-foot visitor center.
The new Visit Canton Welcome Center is being unveiled Friday morning at the Hall of Fame Village. @CantonRepdotcom @HOFVillage @HOFRECO @VisitCanton #hofvillage #pfhof #canton #ohio #starkcounty pic.twitter.com/xRiS7jEbXO
— Ed Balint (@ebalintREP) February 24, 2023
More:Hall of Fame Village water park to feature high-thrill rides, lazy river, football theme
Locating a new welcome center at the Village was a natural fit, Bussey said.
"This location attracts potentially millions of visitors a year," she said. "We wanted to make sure (visitors) know about the other (Stark County) attractions that exist in addition to the Village and Pro Football Hall of Fame."
Hall of Fame Resort and Visit Canton will work together to organize events and promote Stark County's appeal as a tourism destination, Hall of Fame Resort Executive Vice President of Public Affairs Anne Graffice said last year in a prepared statement.
Visit Canton is funded by a lodging tax administered through the Stark County commissioners. In 2019, tourism and travel in Stark County generated $1.2 billion in direct sales for area businesses, and supported more than 13,000 jobs that generated $322.5 million in wages.
More:Former champ James 'Buster' Douglas and amateur boxing coming to Hall of Fame Village
Reach Ed at 330-580-8315 and ebalint@gannett.com
On Twitter @ebalintREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: New welcome center opens at Hall of Fame Village in Canton
