{"id":110059,"date":"2017-08-07T00:42:36","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T04:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=110059"},"modified":"2017-08-07T00:53:42","modified_gmt":"2017-08-07T04:53:42","slug":"hall-of-fame-president-envisions-football-disney-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/08\/07\/hall-of-fame-president-envisions-football-disney-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Hall of Fame president envisions football ‘Disney World’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Screen<\/a>
Screen capture of C. David Baker speaking to the City Club of Cleveland on April 6, 2016. (Photo by City Club of Cleveland – https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pL2OnmGXmdU, CC BY 3.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

CANTON, Ohio \u2014 David Baker has a vision.<\/p>\n

He sees a state-of-the-art stadium; eight fields in a youth sports complex (plus three more on campus); an indoor arena; a centre for athletic performance and safety; a player care centre; and a hotel. All of it and more surrounding the Pro Football Hall of Fame, of which Baker is president & CEO.<\/p>\n

He envisions staging an NFL draft onsite. College championships in football and other sports. Concerts, theatrical performances and conventions. And a celebration of the NFL\u201ds centennial in 2020.<\/p>\n

His vision is in the process of coming to fruition, as anyone who attended this week\u2019s induction ceremonies, Hall of Fame game and other events that make up the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement week can attest.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Disney (properties) are the \u201cHappiest Place on Earth,\u201d Baker says, \u201cwe want to be the \u201cMost Inspiring Place on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFootball is a great metaphor for leadership, and we can play a role. The game has an incredible history, and kids can get to learn to play the game the right way. We can help build men and women the right way. We can help take care of players _ former players like our \u201cGold Jackets\u201d (a term used to refer to living Hall of Famers), present and future players. We can enhance the experience for fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question is, \u201cHow can we help build through football?\u201d I think we have the opportunity to, if you will, help American huddle up.\u201d<\/p>\n

There certainly will be places at the Canton complex to do so, with a potential for the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village to extend to 600 acres. At a cost of perhaps nearly $800 million for what the folks at Johnson Controls are calling the world\u2019s first sports and entertainment \u201csmart city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baker calls it a \u201csmart city with a heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baker, who as commissioner of the Arena Football League for 12 years helped grow team values from $175,000 to as much as $32 million, knows something about building a brand. Since he assumed his role at the Hall of Fame, Baker has enhanced the Canton shrine\u201ds profile among football fans, NFL team owners and _ perhaps a necessary evil these days _ sponsors.<\/p>\n

This year, while the overall village project moves forward, he\u201ds gotten the league to move the Hall of Fame game to Thursday night, thus allowing the inductions on Saturday to culminate the week of activities. However, the turnout for the inductions appeared much smaller than in recent years.<\/p>\n

After a nasty pratfall last summer when the game was cancelled because of an unplayable turf, Baker oversaw the installation of a new turf, which includes field markings sewn into the surface, as part of the construction of the new Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.<\/p>\n

That stadium itself has undergone a major transformation from, basically, an uncomfortable high school arena to what Baker believes will be a destination venue seating \u201can intimate 23,000,\u201d he says with a smile. Locker rooms that some youth teams would have balked at using are gone, with upgrades \u201cin every area of comfort\u201d for 102 players each.<\/p>\n

Already, the NCAA Division III football championship game is coming to Canton in 2020 and 2021, and the Black College Hall of Fame Classic will be played there. (That HOF will make its home on the site, too.)<\/p>\n

The Ohio State high school football championships will return, leaving the Buckeyes\u201d Horseshoe in Columbus.<\/p>\n

An 80,000-square-foot indoor performance centre already has booked the Division III men\u2019s volleyball championship in 2022. It will have a full-size football field and a configuration for basketball when it opens in 2020.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where Baker hopes an NFL draft will land.<\/p>\n

His enthusiasm _ and Baker is a very enthusiastic guy _ peaks when he discusses The Center of Excellence, the Player Care Center and the Hall of Fame Experience.<\/p>\n

The centre will house a coaches\u2019 university, and officiating institute, an academy of corporate excellence and a centre for athlete performance and safety.<\/p>\n

The player care centre will have a wide range of health services. Legends Landing will be a 143-bed independent living or assisted-living and memory care facility for retired Hall of Famers and other members of the NFL community. It also will have a 15-bed surgical hospital and areas for behavioural science, and an addiction centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the opportunity to take care of players who are going to play, do play or did play the game of football,\u201d says Baker, whose son, Sam, played tackle for the Falcons for seven seasons, retiring after 2014. \u201cWe have an opportunity to make a difference in the health of players, and not just our Gold Jackets.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the Hall of Fame Experience, well, that is the closest to the Disney model that the village will get: an indoor amusement park themed around football.<\/p>\n

\u201cFans will be able to experience everything, from what it feels like to be suited up for a game to having their own competitions,\u201d Baker explains.<\/p>\n

Somehow, it also will have a football-themed water park inside.<\/p>\n

By the time the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village is completed with its 10 components, Baker is hopeful the centennial celebration of pro football in America on Sept. 17, 2020, also will call Canton home.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter all,\u201d he points out, \u201cCanton is where it all started.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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