Birmingham contractor and developer Brasfield & Gorrie have just completed construction on the $68.5 million dollar College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience in Atlanta. Immediately neighboring the Centennial Olympic Park and the Georgia World Congress Center, the three-story attraction opened to the public last weekend.
The 94,256-square-foot attraction was built to entertain and educate football fans on the history and traditions of college football. Previously located in South Bend, Indiana, the College Football Hall of Fame has been combined with a “fan experience” that includes interactive exhibits and museum-grade memorabilia.
Designed by tvsdesign-Turner Properties, construction on the Hall of Fame and Fan Experience began in January 2013 and was completed ahead of schedule. Brasfield & Gorrie Division Manager Chris Britton credits the “the strong partnership between Atlanta Hall Management, Brasfield & Gorrie, Cousins Properties-Gude Management, tvsdesign, BenchMark Management and other team members,” for the projects early completion, adding that “the commitment of each stakeholder was integral to this project’s success.”
One of the most unique aspects of the multi-media, interactive exhibits is that the experience can be tailored to each visitor, courtesy of the RFID badges that they are issued upon entering the exhibit. The first stop is a kiosk where visitors enter their email address and school of choice. Every exhibit from that point on will highlight that school’s accomplishments, and all of the featured videos, images, and recordings related to that school are made available through email link, for free on the Hall of Fame’s website. One particularly interesting exhibit is the booth which shows footage of each team’s field entrance traditions, from the point of view of a person standing at the bottom of the hill.
According to Hall of Famer Kevin Butler, kicker for the University of Georgia Bulldogs, “What they’ve done is taken the technology that we use in everyday life and joined it with the history of college football.” Butler, who went on to play professionally for the Chicago bears and Arizona Cardinals, added that “This facility is the new age of hall of fames.”