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Could the College Football Hall of Fame be on the move?
The College Football Hall of Fame has been in South Bend for 10 years
Posted: 06/30/2005 10:17 pm
Last Updated: 06/30/2005 10:38 pm
Story filed by NewsCenter16 Reporter
Judi Lykowski
South Bend, IN - A Texas mayor is eying South Bend's College Football Hall of Fame.
The mayor of Arlington, Texas says his city's strong tourism would lift the hall's attendance numbers.
Since opening in South Bend in 1995, the hall has struggled to meet projections.
Thursday, NewsCenter 16 did some digging. We found out that the mayor of Arlington, Texas does indeed, show interest in luring the hall of fame to the south.
However, right now, South Bend's mayor is in the midst of negotiations with the National Football Foundation to keep the hall right where it is.
Continuing struggle
It’s been here for 10 years, and each year, the city of South Bend hands over hundreds of thousands of dollars to the College Football Hall of Fame to keep it afloat.
"It certainly wasn't here to make a profit, it was here to be an attraction to the city of South Bend, to bring people here from other communities," said Mayor of South Bend, Steve Luecke.
But as Dr. David Varner, a city council member points out, "If you look at the numbers, it certainly hasn't panned out attendance wise from the projections, it didn't pan out sponsor wise. So, it's been a shortfall all the way around."
As the end of a five-year agreement between the city and the hall approaches, the word on Thursday from Arlington, Texas was that South Bend might have competition in keeping the hall of fame anchored.
"I can almost tell you that with the huge amount of visitors we have in the entertainment district, I suspect that when the Cowboy stadium is built I would think that we would have very good attendance numbers at the hall of fame," said Mayor of Arlington, Texas, Robert Cluck via phone to NewsCenter 16.
In 2009 the Dallas Cowboy Stadium will open, but right now, the way it stands, Texas is three times the population of Indiana, as Arlington is more than three times the population of South Bend.
Arlington’s mayor says now that the Cowboys stadium is secure, his focus is on bringing museums like the College Football Hall of Fame. After hearing this, Dr. Varner says, "It's probably a blessing."
Luecke says the news doesn't worry him, however.
"Could another community recruit them away? I suppose that's possible,” said Luecke. “But at this point, I believe it's a pre-mature speculation."
The executive director of the hall of fame isn't taking the comments as fact either.
"I don't think there is an offer,” said Executive Director of the College Football Hall of Fame, Rick Walls. “I don't think there's anything out there, I just think someone threw the idea out, that they would like to have the hall of fame there, and we are not in the business of just excepting offers that come in.”
Possible contract extension
Both Mayor Luecke and the Executive Director with the College Football Hall of Fame admit they are discussing extending the five-year contract.
The current contract is good up to the end of this year, so there is still a lot of time on the table.
The College Football Hall of Fame has been in South Bend for 10 years
Posted: 06/30/2005 10:17 pm
Last Updated: 06/30/2005 10:38 pm
Story filed by NewsCenter16 Reporter
Judi Lykowski
South Bend, IN - A Texas mayor is eying South Bend's College Football Hall of Fame.
The mayor of Arlington, Texas says his city's strong tourism would lift the hall's attendance numbers.
Since opening in South Bend in 1995, the hall has struggled to meet projections.
Thursday, NewsCenter 16 did some digging. We found out that the mayor of Arlington, Texas does indeed, show interest in luring the hall of fame to the south.
However, right now, South Bend's mayor is in the midst of negotiations with the National Football Foundation to keep the hall right where it is.
Continuing struggle
It’s been here for 10 years, and each year, the city of South Bend hands over hundreds of thousands of dollars to the College Football Hall of Fame to keep it afloat.
"It certainly wasn't here to make a profit, it was here to be an attraction to the city of South Bend, to bring people here from other communities," said Mayor of South Bend, Steve Luecke.
But as Dr. David Varner, a city council member points out, "If you look at the numbers, it certainly hasn't panned out attendance wise from the projections, it didn't pan out sponsor wise. So, it's been a shortfall all the way around."
As the end of a five-year agreement between the city and the hall approaches, the word on Thursday from Arlington, Texas was that South Bend might have competition in keeping the hall of fame anchored.
"I can almost tell you that with the huge amount of visitors we have in the entertainment district, I suspect that when the Cowboy stadium is built I would think that we would have very good attendance numbers at the hall of fame," said Mayor of Arlington, Texas, Robert Cluck via phone to NewsCenter 16.
In 2009 the Dallas Cowboy Stadium will open, but right now, the way it stands, Texas is three times the population of Indiana, as Arlington is more than three times the population of South Bend.
Arlington’s mayor says now that the Cowboys stadium is secure, his focus is on bringing museums like the College Football Hall of Fame. After hearing this, Dr. Varner says, "It's probably a blessing."
Luecke says the news doesn't worry him, however.
"Could another community recruit them away? I suppose that's possible,” said Luecke. “But at this point, I believe it's a pre-mature speculation."
The executive director of the hall of fame isn't taking the comments as fact either.
"I don't think there is an offer,” said Executive Director of the College Football Hall of Fame, Rick Walls. “I don't think there's anything out there, I just think someone threw the idea out, that they would like to have the hall of fame there, and we are not in the business of just excepting offers that come in.”
Possible contract extension
Both Mayor Luecke and the Executive Director with the College Football Hall of Fame admit they are discussing extending the five-year contract.
The current contract is good up to the end of this year, so there is still a lot of time on the table.