The College Football Hall of Fame, located in South Bend, Indiana, will close at some point of 2012, regardless of the status for the new location in Atlanta. Construction for the new location in Atlanta is currently being altered and the goal is to open in 2014.
The College Football Hall of Fame made the decision to relocate to Atlanta in 2009, but on Thursday the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that the National Football Foundation advised the Hall of Fame to scale back on the construction plans due to rising costs.
"They've been asked to go back to the initial plan of 50,000 square feet for $50 million," College Football Hall of Fame executive director Lisa Klunder said. According to Klunder the initial plan had escalated to an $82 million, 75,000 square foot building. The National Football Foundation, which owns the rights to the Hall of Fame, believed that was too large said was too big. New plans will be reviewed by the NFF in April. Upon approval of the final plans, construction can begin as early as this fall.
It is likely that College Football Hall of Fame will remain open through Notre Dame's football season, as the museum is a destination point for visitors to Notre Dame football games in the fall.
"The director of the National Football Foundation has said that no matter what happens, (the move to Atlanta) is going to get done," Klunder said. "Even if there are delays in the project, we're still going to close at the end of the year.
"The end of 2012 will be it," Klunder said. "We'll start to move out and pack up."
If all goes to plan at this point, there will be no College Football Hall of Fame in 2013. Enshrinement ceremonies and other procedures will carry on as always while construction is ongoing.
Quotes provided by South Bend Tribune.
Kevin McGuire is a national college football writer for Examiner.com and the host of the No 2-Minute Warning podcast. He can be reached at cfbexaminer@gmail.com.
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