Hall of Fame Village Elevates Esports with Gridiron Gateway Gaming Tournament

CANTON, OHIO – July 10, 2024 – Hall of Fame Village’s Gridiron Gateway Gaming Tournament, officially licensed by Nintendo of America, concluded its most successful event to date on July 6 and 7, 2024, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, drawing over 400 attendees to Canton.

The tournament showcased many of the top 100 ranked players in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Ultimate from across the United States. Notable highlights included Cody Schwab, the world's #1 Melee player representing Nouns Esports, who triumphed in the Melee Singles event, and Stephen Schmidt of Cincinnati Fear, who emerged victorious in the Ultimate Singles event. Former NFL running back Le'Veon Bell also participated in the Ultimate Singles competition. This year’s tournament highlighted the growing interest in Gold Summit Gaming events, with participants coming from 18 states, including Texas and Florida, as well as Ontario, Canada.

Gridiron Gateway featured nine different competitions over two days. Melee Singles and Ultimate Singles, each with an additional $1,000 pot bonus, were the most popular, attracting over 150 attendees each. The excitement was both on-site and online, as the events were displayed live on the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium jumbotron for in-person attendees and broadcast globally by VGBootcamp, a premier live-streaming and media production company, reaching thousands of viewers worldwide.

"Hosting this fifth major gaming event at Hall of Fame Village for Gridiron Gateway demonstrates our commitment to the space and our ability to draw the best in the game," stated Michael Crawford, President & CEO at Hall of Fame Village. "The Village provided the perfect backdrop for this event, allowing us to use every aspect of our stadium to provide a venue “like no other” for the passionate gaming community to compete at the highest levels.”

Plans are underway to make Gridiron Gateway a flagship event, attracting communities both virtually and in person. For more information about future events and updates, please visit hofvillage.com.


About Hall of Fame Village (HOFV):
Hall of Fame Village, a division of Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company, is a 100-acre immersive sports and entertainment destination centered around the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The Village is dedicated to making every experience one-of-a-kind for fans throughout its six venues—Center for Performance, Constellation Center for Excellence, Fan Engagement Zone, ForeverLawn Sports Complex, Play-Action Plaza, and Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. An indoor football-themed waterpark and Hilton Tapestry Hotel are also under construction. For more information, visit www.HOFVillage.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Hall of Fame Village
Madison Zurakowski
Madison.Zurakowski@hofvillage.com