clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

College Football Hall of Fame entering final days in South Bend

Seventeen years after the College Football Hall of Fame moved to South Bend, Ind., it will close its doors Sunday. The Hall of Fame will move to Atlanta, but won't re-open until 2014.

Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

The College Football Hall of Fame will close it's doors in South Bend, Ind., on Sunday, 17 years after it arrived in the city with great fan-fare. The decision to move the Hall of Fame to Atlanta was made three years ago, although because of funding issues it will not re-open until 2014.

It was a disappointing run for the Hall of Fame, which was expected to be a tourist boon when it arrived in the early 1990's from its original home in Ohio. However, it drew only 115,000 in its first year and an average of 60,000 people per year after that.

Now according to the Chicago Tribune, the city of South Bend now has to decide what to do with the massive, 58,000 square foot facility. Some have suggested that it be turned into a Notre Dame Hall of Fame, while others believe it should become indoor recreation center or shopping center.

However to date, no one has made a bid to buy the building, which the city still owes $6.4 million in bonds on.