12/23/2019
CANTON, OHIO – December 23, 2019 – Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co. (“HOFV” or the “Company”), the company that owns the premier sports, entertainment and media enterprise surrounding the prestigious Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, today announced that Anne Graffice has been named Executive Vice President, Public Affairs. In this capacity, Ms. Graffice will oversee community, investor, media and government relations, and manage all corporate social responsibility initiatives for HOFV.
Ms. Graffice joins the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company from the Pro Football Hall of Fame where she was Vice President of Development and Strategic Adventures, serving as the Hall’s chief community liaison, diversity officer, and head of government relations. Ms. Graffice brings comprehensive corporate and community relations expertise to HOFV’s highly-qualified, expanding leadership team, where her appointment builds upon the previously announced appointments of Jason Krom as Chief Financial Officer and Ed Kiernan as Chief Commercial Officer. Ms. Graffice will report to Mike Crawford, Chief Executive Officer, as she develops several of HOFV’s strategic goals, including driving wide-ranging fundraising efforts, supporting diversity planning, and promoting the Company’s mission and value proposition to investors, consumers, and the media, as well as municipal, provincial and federal authorities and the broader public.
“We are confident that Anne’s instinct for identifying, connecting with and engaging a broad swathe of differing stakeholder groups, coupled with her deep communications expertise, makes her the ideal candidate to lead public affairs at HOFV,” said Mr. Crawford. “Anne is highly qualified to convey our business plan, strategic growth initiatives, and corporate values to investors, community members and the many stakeholders impacted by our venture. We believe that further development of the Hall of Fame Village presents transformational potential for our community, and we are thrilled to have Anne on our team as we continue to advance our civic and strategic objectives.”
Ms. Graffice is a proven community leader with an impressive track record of developing and implementing external relations campaigns and diversity programming. During her time with the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Ms. Graffice actively participated in the development of the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village and became intimately familiar with the project’s operations. Prior to that, Ms. Graffice served as Executive Director of Alumni Engagement at the University of Mount Union, responsible for a departmental budget and endowment fund of over $200 million dollars. She has also served as Chairperson of the Stark County Convention and Visitors Bureau, where she focused on driving economic development in the region through tourism initiatives.
Ms. Graffice previously spent nearly a decade in wealth management and long-term retirement planning. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Mount Union College and Master of Business Administration with a Leadership Concentration from Tiffin University.
On September 16, 2019, HOFV entered into a definitive business combination agreement with Gordon Pointe Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: GPAQ, GPAQU, GPAQW) that is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2019. Upon the closing of the transaction, the combined company will change its name to Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company and trade on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol “HOFV.”
About Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company
Hall of Fame Village powered by Johnson Controls, a development of Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company is a multi-use sports, entertainment and media destination centered around the Pro Football Hall of Fame's campus in Canton, Ohio. It provides a themed sports, entertainment and media venue to capitalize on the popularity and fandom associated with professional football and its legendary players. Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co. was founded by the Pro Football Hall of Fame through its wholly owned, for profit subsidiary Hall of Fame Village, Inc. and Industrial Realty Group, LLC.