DevelopOhio

The planners behind the Hall of Fame Village (see our September 8, 2015 blog post for more on this) talk about a lot of places when they give presentations about the $476 million museum complex: Graceland, Walt Disney World, Branson and . . . Canton, according to a recent CantonRep.com article. They cite attendance statistics for tourist attractions that “draw visitors from around the world,” as consultants estimate that Hall of Fame Village could bring in 3 million visitors a year and have an economic impact of $15.3 billion over 25 years. While it’s difficult to calculate exactly how many jobs and how much revenue is brought in by these major tourist attractions, tourism executives say they do know “having a signature attraction helps market the region and spurs more development.” Branson, Missouri, “embarked on a $420 million public-private project in 2004 to build a convention center, a four-star hotel, a boutique hotel, condominiums and retail along a lake”; it opened in 2006 and by 2008 generated an “estimated $180 million in economic activity and $8 million in taxes.” As a University of North Carolina School of Government case study about the Branson Landing development concluded, “[s]mall communities can create record-breaking projects.” For more, read the full article.