BGL Real Estate Advisors Announces Sale Leaseback for the Indoor Waterpark at Hall of Fame Village

 Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) is pleased to announce the financial closing of a sale-leaseback transaction for the 147,000 square foot, football themed, indoor Waterpark at the Hall of Fame Village powered by Johnson Controls in Canton, Ohio with Blue Owl’s Real Estate Division, Oak Street.    

The Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company (“HOFV” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: HOFV) is a leading sports, entertainment, and media enterprise headquartered in Canton, Ohio, and is the owner of the Hall of Fame Village. Established in 2020, the publicly traded company is the result of a business combination between HOF Village, LLC — a partnership between the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Industrial Realty Group (IRG), established in 2016 — and Gordon Pointe Acquisition Corp (GPAQ). Under the leadership of seasoned executive Michael Crawford, President & CEO, HOFV is poised to capitalize on its unique partnership with professional football. This platform allows for the continued development of an integrated resort complex that is the Hall of Fame Village, as well as other gaming and media verticals. 

“Blue Owl is pleased to work with HOFV on the financing of such an important component of the Hall of Fame Village and to continue their partnership with IRG, one of the leading industrial developers in the country,” said Colleen Collins, Managing Director of Blue Owl. “We also wanted to acknowledge BGL’s creativity to facilitate this transaction in the current challenging capital markets.”

The themed, experiential, destination masterplan of Hall of Fame Village includes three phases:

• Phase I is complete and included the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium and the initial build-out of the Hall Fame Village Sports Complex.
  
  
• Phase II is well underway and consists of the newly renovated DoubleTree by Hilton Canton Downtown hotel, a multi-use office complex in the Constellation Center for Excellence, a 100,000 square foot indoor facility in the Center for Performance, the Fan Engagement Zone, and Play-Action Plaza, an outdoor entertainment space that includes a zip line and giant wheel attraction to compliment food and beverage options contained within three acres of green space. A Hilton Tapestry Hotel, and the completion of what is now known as the “Forever Lawn Sports Complex,” round out the offerings of Phase II.
  
  
• A future Phase III is also in the early planning stages, and could include additional attractions, dining, lodging, apartments, and other accommodations. The Hall of Fame Village campus is also home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Museum, and, while the Museum is under separate ownership, the aligned synergies complement this destination masterplan.

The Hall of Fame Indoor Waterpark will feature 147,000 square feet of technology-driven, football-themed, family-friendly recreation area. The Waterpark will feature 85,000 square feet of water space, including a wave pool, lazy river, several waterslides, private cabanas, and smaller slides and pool areas for kids. The facility will also include party rooms, a separate arcade area, locker rooms, lifeguard stations, laundry facilities, and various food and drink options. 

BGL’s Real Estate Advisors Group offers comprehensive real estate investment banking services tailored to the middle market. It provides client-focused solutions with an emphasis on real estate advisory, debt, preferred and private equity placement, financial restructuring, recapitalizations, sale-leasebacks, structured finance, and asset acquisitions and dispositions across all asset classes. The team assists real estate owners and developers looking to form alliances and joint ventures with single-source capital providers to gain local and institutional access for all capital needs.

Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL) is a leading independent investment bank and financial advisory firm focused on the global middle market. The firm advises private and public corporations and private equity groups on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, financial restructurings, valuations and opinions, and other strategic matters. BGL has investment banking offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and New York, and real estate offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, and San Antonio. The firm is also a founding member of Global M&A Partners, enabling BGL to service clients in more than 30 countries around the world. Securities transactions are conducted through Brown, Gibbons, Lang & Company Securities, LLC, an affiliate of Brown Gibbons Lang & Company LLC and a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information, please visit https://www.bglco.com/.

Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company is a resort and entertainment company leveraging the power and popularity of professional football and its legendary players in partnership with the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Headquartered in Canton, Ohio, the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company is the owner of the Hall of Fame Village powered by Johnson Controls, a multi-use sports, entertainment and media destination centered around the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s campus. Additional information on the Company can be found at www.HOFREco.com.

Hall of Fame Village powered by Johnson Controls is a multi-use sports, entertainment and media destination centered around the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s campus in Canton, Ohio. Owned by the Hall of Fame Resort and Entertainment Company, the Village currently has over $250 million worth of assets under management and is one of the largest ongoing construction projects in Ohio. Phase I of the project entailed the construction of the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, a world-class 20,000 seat, sports and entertainment stadium, and the Hall of Fame Village Sports Complex. Phase II, currently under construction, will add the Constellation Center for Excellence, the Center for Performance, a Fan Engagement Zone, a Hall of Fame indoor waterpark and a Hilton Tapestry Hotel. Phase III is currently in planning stages. For more information, visit www.HOFVillage.com.

Blue Owl is a global alternative asset manager with $132.1 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2022. Anchored by a strong permanent capital base, the firm deploys private capital across Direct Lending, GP Capital Solutions and Real Estate strategies on behalf of Institutional and Private Wealth clients. Blue Owl’s flexible, consultative approach helps position the firm as a partner of choice for businesses seeking capital solutions to support their sustained growth. The firm’s management team is comprised of seasoned investment professionals with more than 25 years of experience building alternative investment businesses. Blue Owl employs over 400 people across 10 offices globally. For more information, please visit https://www.blueowl.com/oak-street/

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