Canton’s Pro Football Hall Of Fame Ready To Take Center Stage

CANTON: Hey Canton, are you ready for some football?The answer from the Pro Football Hall of Fame is a resounding “yes.”Just don’t mind the dust, as the Hall of Fame is shovel-deep in a multi-year, $500-million project to reinvent itself — from within to its appearance from the highway.Working as if it is the fourth down and the final seconds are ticking off the clock, crews are scrambling around the complex this week to prepare for next weekend’s Hall of Fame induction festivities.Literally taking center stage at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Steve Strawbridge, hall of fame vice president for merchandise sales, said the newly renovated North Side of the stadium is nothing like its former self.For one, it has the widest concourse (it was once a city street) just below the stands that can also serve as a festival space.The stadium now boasts 104 points of sale for everything from T-shirts to popcorn, compared to just 30 last year.The field was lowered by some 14 feet and the North Stands were shifted some 40 feet toward the Hall of Fame.“We have been able to bring these closer together to create a campus,” said Kevin Shiplett, Hall of Fame vice president of operations and facilities.But the real star — aside from the newly minted hall of famers and the exhibition game — is the large stage area.