page_title: Pro Football Hall of Fame
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Pro Football Hall of Fame / History
caption_attribution_description: The well-known central dome type architecture from inside the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
context_page_description: The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened in 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coaches, franchise owners, and front-office personnel, almost all of whom made their primary contributions to the game in the National Football League; the Hall inducts between four and eight new enshrinees each year.
  As of 2020, there are a total of 346 members of the Hall of Fame, 189 of whom are living. Members are referred to as "Gold Jackets" due to the distinctive gold jackets they receive during the induction ceremony. Between four and eight new inductees are normally enshrined every year. There will be no event in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. For 2021, an additional 15 members, known as the "Centennial Slate", were inducted into the Hall of Fame to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the NFL.
context_section_description: The city of Canton, Ohio successfully lobbied the NFL to have the Hall of Fame built and has cited three reasons. First, the NFL was founded in Canton on September 17, 1920 (at that time it was known as the American Professional Football Association). Second, the now-defunct Canton Bulldogs were a successful pro football team and the NFL's first two-time NFL champion (in 1922 and 1923). Third, the Canton community held a fundraising effort that garnered nearly $400,000 (equivalent to $2,594,000 in 2018) to get the Hall of Fame built. Groundbreaking for the building was held on August 11, 1962. The original building contained just two rooms, and 19,000 square feet (1,800 m²) of interior space.
  In April 1970, ground was broken for the first of many expansions. This first expansion cost $620,000, and was completed in May 1971. The size was increased to 34,000 square feet (3,200 m²) by adding another room. The pro shop opened with this expansion. This was also an important milestone for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as yearly attendance passed the 200,000 mark for the first time. This was at least in some part due to the increase in popularity of professional football caused by the advent of the American Football League and its success in the final two AFL-NFL World Championship games.
  In November 1977, work began on another expansion project, costing US$1,200,000. It was completed in November 1978, enlarging the gift shop and research library, while doubling the size of the theater. The total size of the hall was now 50,500 square feet (4,690 m²), more than 2.5 times the original size.
  The building remained largely unchanged until July 1993. The Hall then announced yet another expansion, costing US$9,200,000, and adding a fifth room. This expansion was completed in October 1995. The building's size was increased to 82,307 square feet (7,647 m²). The most notable addition was the GameDay Stadium, which shows an NFL Films production on a 20-foot (6.1 m) by 42-foot (13 m) Cinemascope screen.
  In 2013, the Hall of Fame completed its largest expansion and renovation to date. Currently, the Hall of Fame consists of 118,000 square feet.
  Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village, an estimated $900 million expansion project adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has completed Phase I of construction; preparations for beginning Phase II 
  are currently underway.
caption: Inside the original structure in 2008
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