CANTON ‒ Pro Football Hall of Fame President and CEO Jim Porter doesn’t want the upcoming KeyBank Center to be filled only with football-themed events.
He wants the Stark County community to take advantage of the new facility when it opens.
“Our vision for this event center really comes down to how can we make this community more strong,” Porter said Sept. 23 during a groundbreaking ceremony. “Of course, we’re going to use this event center for events that the Hall of Fame puts on, but this is an event center that we want to share with the whole community and just really start making a difference.”The KeyBank Center, a nearly 12,000-square-foot space, is set to be built next to the Nash Family Event & Conference Center and the Hall of Fame’s turf football field. The project is expected to cost $19.3 million.
“Today is a celebration of the Hall’s future, and the community’s future and a celebration of the great partners who have made this all happen,” Porter said. “This is about two and a half years worth of work. … We’re very proud to be associated with KeyBank, and we thank them.”
The Hall of Fame hopes the center is ready for the 2027 enshrinement ceremony.
KeyBank Center to include café, rooftop terrace
Porter said the Hall recently received a grant from the Timken Foundation that has allowed them to finish the funding for the new center.
“We always want to make sure that any project that is started here, that we can finish it to the end,” he said, “and the Timken Foundation made sure that that happened for us, so we’re very proud of that.”
The center will feature two levels, with a second floor that will include a cafe, VIP Club and 6,580 square feet of turf rooftop space.
“This project reflects our shared commitment to celebrate Canton’s legacy as the birthplace of the NFL while driving our city toward cultural and economic growth,” Canton Mayor William V. Sherer II said in a prepared statement. “The Hall has been an incredible partner over the years, alongside the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce, in bringing top-tier events to the Canton Memorial Civic Center. While we will continue to make upgrades to our facility and offer a variety of events for all to enjoy, we celebrate this new chapter for the Hall and all it will bring to our community.”
KeyCorp CEO: ‘We in fact are building a legacy.’
Chris Gorman, chairman and CEO at Cleveland-based KeyCorp, said the new building is an exciting development for the company.
“We are not just starting construction, we in fact are building a legacy,” he said.
“Through our partnership, we are proud to support financial literacy, programming for youth, engagement with Hall of Famers and educational outreach that will empower future leaders. Canton, of course, the origin of the NFL, and this project honors that legacy while driving cultural and economic growth.”
Gorman said the partnership between KeyBank and the Hall of Fame is rooted in shared values of excellence, community and opportunity.
“There is no better way to honor our history than investing in the future of Northeastern Ohio,” he said. “The KeyBank Center will be a place where people come together to learn, to lead and to be inspired for generations to come.”
Reach Janson McNair at 330-580-8347 or at jmcnair@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Pro Football Hall of Fame breaks ground on new KeyBank Center
Reporting by Janson McNair, Canton Repository / The Repository
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