Former Walt Disney executive Michael Crawford is set to create the ‘Disneyland of football’ near the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Ohio. According to the Wall Street Journal, Michael is leading the in-development building of a football-themed resort, including football-themed hotels, apartments, and a water park.
The new attraction will be packaged together, with the hall of fame, a stadium, and a sports complex. The complex will also feature rides, retail space, and a research facility. Michael Crawford has said his investment group are ready to invest $300 million in the second phase of the project, taking place later this year and concluding in 2022.
“The people’s hunger and desire to consume sports and be in environments like arenas and stadiums and destinations like this will be at an all-time high,” Crawford told WSJ. “We will be building in a down market and opening in an upmarket.”
Michael was originally hired in 2018 to run the development of the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village, the sport and entertainment destination next to the hall of fame. Prior to that, Michael spent 25 years with Disney, as senior vice president of Walt Disney Holding Company.
He was responsible for the negotiations for the Shanghai Disney Resort, which cost in the region of $5.5 billion. The resort attracted over one million guests in its first week of operation. The Cleveland Browns fan is now ready to take on his next major project, in creating the ‘Disneyland of football.’
