Atlanta attraction turns to outside company Legends

It will manage a range of services for the Hall of Fame.

The College Football Hall of Fame this week announced a long-in-the-works deal to have Legends, a worldwide premium-experiences company founded by the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees, manage operations at the downtown Atlanta attraction.

The new multiyear partnership will allow the Hall of Fame to “avail ourselves of the resources and the expertise that Legends brings to the table to continue the good work that we have been doing and enhance it and give us the bandwidth to do more,” said Kimberly Beaudin, who remains the Hall of Fame’s president and CEO.

Under the new arrangement, Beaudin said she will report to the Atlanta Hall Management board of directors, as she has in the past, and also to the co-president of Legends. She said all current employees will remain on the staff.

The Hall of Fame said in its announcement that Legends will manage a range of services for the attraction, including sponsorship sales, ticketing, hospitality and merchandise sales.

“We have been going it alone and have gotten this far, but we have some pretty lofty goals,” Beaudin said. “(Legend’s) global reach can really benefit the Hall of Fame and our future.”

Legends, founded in 2008, has considerable experience in Atlanta sports. The company this year began an extensive partnership with the Georgia Tech Athletic Association, previously led Falcons personal seat license sales for Mercedes-benz Stadium and also worked with the Hawks on the renovation of State Farm Arena. Investment firm Sixth Street acquired a majority stake in Legends early this year.

The College Football Hall of Fame, like many such attractions, suffered a sharp decline in revenue because of the coronavirus pandemic. About half of its full-time employees were laid off last year as the days of operation were reduced. The facility is now open Thursdays through Mondays from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Beaudin said individual ticket sales recently have rebounded to about 90% of 2019 levels, but a recovery in group sales “is going to take longer.”

“We think it’ll be spring before we start seeing (school) field trips again,” she said.

The Hall of Fame has booked two major events in connection with the SEC Championship game in early December and will be the site of SEC football Media Days in July, Beaudin said.

The College Football Hall of Fame opened its 94,256-square-foot facility near Centennial Olympic Park in August 2014, following a 2009 decision by the National Football Foundation to move the sport’s shrine to Atlanta from South Bend, Ind.