Seems the CFL HOF is asking the city of Hamilton for $100,000 to keep operating.
"Attendance is a problem … no one is going," said Duvall, pointing to City Hall construction as the beginning of a nosedive in paid visits. "We think that a new location, in a higher traffic area, would make a big difference."
He added the organization has also just lost a major sponsor, whom he wouldn’t identify, as well as the chance to apply for government grants as a result of a 2013 deficit.
[b]The city will bail out a cash-strapped Canadian Football Hall of Fame for up to $100,000 as the organization searches for a new home.
Councillor and hall board member Scott Duvall surprised colleagues Wednesday with an “urgent” request for $100,000 to help the suddenly broke hall pay debts coming due as early as next week.[/b]
He said the money will also be used to fund a search for cheaper, higher-traffic digs in Hamilton.
Contacted at home, hall of fame chair Dave Marler acknowledged the board is having discussions about a “sustainable, stable location for the future,” but added the goal is to stay in Hamilton.
location/visibility and limited space of the Hall have always been a problem and should have been addressed many years ago.
The building is cobbled in such an obscure area that many Hamiltonians do not even know it is there.
and BTW, it is the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, not the CFL Hall of Fame, as it includes inductees from the CIS, CJFL and CFL as well as media/builders of football in Canada.
A 100 grand is a measly amount to help what should be considered an historical and tourist attraction. The HOF should ask the Liberals for it, especially after they wasted and lied about 1.1 BILLION !!!
They didn’t design the new THF to incorporate the HOF and probably no budget to put a new building close to the stadium. Ottawa definitely has the new buildings going up around the stadium and I’m sure one of them could be leased to the HOF. That is a site that will have regular visitors even when there are no football games.
Unless they are a destination site (e.g., Cooperstown), museums work when they are located somewhere that get lots of visitors/tourists and they are easily accessible. The Canadian Football HoF is not a destination site for enough people to make it successful, and I suspect downtown Hamilton is a not itself a tourist centre.
The current Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa apparently displays less than 5% of its collection and, despite being isolated in the east end as far as tourist access is concerned, is fairly popular. It has been "temporarily" situated in a former bakery for over 45 years, but efforts to get a new building closer to other Ottawa museums "downtown" have been denied by the government. Don't see Stephen funding the CFL Hall of Fame.
Much as I hate to say it, the ideal would be in TO next to/near the Hockey Hall of Fame. It is not a great CFL city but it attracts lots of visitors and being near the HHOF would add to its draw/accessibility. Even somewhere central in TO, easily accessible, would help tremendously. Maybe some developer who is having issues with project approval should explore accommodating the HoF and seeing if that would help their case.
$100K is “small” in government terms, but I expect it would also be a recurring cost and is indicative of the HoF not being viable. Now the money spent on an as yet non-existent program would cover that for decades, but it won’t make the HoF more successful, just stop it from folding.
Locate it at Hamilton airport. Seriously. There's almost nothing to do at an airport anyway, and it would make it a lot more accessible to folks just passing through.
Actually that’s not as crazy as it sounds,you could relocate it next to the War plane Heritage Museum.Another idea that might work that I’ve mentioned before on threads about this subject is to possibly move it to a neutral site location like Halifax,which is more of a tourist location than downtown Hamilton and who knows could spark some interest for a 10th team on the east coast.The league could even have the HOF game played there as a neutral site game on a rotating basis between teams each season.It could be known as the Halifax Hall of Fame Heritage Classic game.
Well you maybe right on that,I don’t know how about maybe in Saskatchewan then? when they build their new stadium incorporate it into the blueprints from the get go or perhaps on its own in a building directly outside of and adjacent to the park.At least if it were in Saskatchewan it would probably be properly maintained and updated and appreciated instead of the sad state that it is in now in downtown Hamilton.Honestly I took my son there several years ago and we were both embarrassed at how little it had to offer and how bad it was maintained considering that it was supposed to be a Hall of Fame,it was more like a Hall of Shame. :thdn: :oops:
It is not just the CFL HOF but the HOF for all Canadian football. The CFL however should be leading the charge to get it relocated.
First find a city and/or Ownership group that wants it in their city and can properly place it in the city where access can be had.
As the CFL and TSN are teaming to bring the profile of the CFL to new heights HOF induction and game should become part of the TSN programming each year.
TSN can promote this day into a better and new tradition.
Whether if be Ottawa who probably has the best options now to create such a home and be part of tourist attractions in the capital city.
I would be confident that SASK, the city of Regina, and the Riders organization would do right by the HOF.
The HOF is an abomination and needs some serious attention and money. How typical; they do absolutely nothing to better their situation but the moment they run out of money, they come cap in hand. The Feds are providing grants for all sorts of "cultural" projects so I'm sure the HOF can squeeze out some Federal funding. But the need a new plan-and quick because just an infusion of cash will not solve what ails the Hall
Although not a CFL HOF, the league none the less is the primary focus. Maybe the teams can use a tiny portion of the new TV money to help the HOF since it sure as heck aint going to the players.
Also, as has already been mentioned, if local governments refuse to step up and help the HOF, then it should be moved to wherever the support is.
