CANTON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company (“HOFV” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: HOFV, HOFVW), the only resort, entertainment and media company centered around the power of professional football, today announced that it has partnered with StakeKings to power the Hall Of Fantasy League (“HOFL”), the first community-backed national fantasy league. The partnership will introduce staking – the concept of making a financial contribution to cover a portion of a participant’s entry or buy-in fee, and in return taking a percentage of the winnings – to a season-long fantasy sports league for the first time.
“We are excited by the significant progress we have made on our go-to-market strategy for the HOFL since we acquired the League this past summer,” said Michael Crawford, President and Chief Executive Officer of HOFV. “As a result of this important partnership with a category leader in StakeKings, we now have the infrastructure we need to power the HOFL and allow individuals to purchase a stake in a communally shared fantasy team that competes over the course of a season, not just on a given day. We are the only fantasy league to offer this kind of opportunity to the public.”
The StakeKings platform will enable the public to partially stake any of the HOFL’s 10 regionally based franchises, thereby becoming team stakeholders and gaining access to exclusive content, communications, and team governance features. Stakers will be entitled to their pro rata shares of their teams’ winnings and will have opportunities to provide input on key roster moves while engaging directly with their franchises’ Front Office teams and fellow stakeholders.
“StakeKings is excited for our partnership with the HOFL,” said Tyler Hancock, Founder and CEO of StakeKings. “Together, we look forward to bringing a new form of entertainment to fantasy football, and we can't wait for next season!”
The HOFL’s inaugural draft is expected to take place in summer of 2021 and its first season will commence alongside the 2021-22 NFL season. Announcements pertaining to franchise locations, team names and logos, front office personnel and league rules will be announced in the months leading up to the draft. The League will leverage its access to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, NFL alumni and fantasy football personalities to create original video, audio and written league-focused content that will be hosted on its platform, helping to entertain, educate and engage team stakeholders throughout each week of the season.
About Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company
Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: HOFV, HOFVW) is a resort and entertainment company leveraging the power and popularity of professional football and its legendary players in partnership with the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Headquartered in Canton, Ohio, the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company is the owner of the Hall of Fame Village powered by Johnson Controls, a multi-use sports, entertainment and media destination centered around the Pro Football Hall of Fame's campus. Additional information on the Company can be found at www.HOFREco.com.
About Hall of Fantasy League
Hall of Fantasy League (HOFL) is the first community-backed national fantasy league. Launching with 10 regionally based franchises in key U.S. markets, HOFL teams will be managed by a dedicated front office of fantasy experts and former NFL players. Participation in the league will come in the form of staking, which will allow the public to financially back individual teams, become team stakeholders, and gain access to exclusive content, communications, and team governance features. The HOFL’s inaugural draft is expected to take place in summer of 2021 and its first season will commence alongside the 2021-22 NFL season. For more information visit www.thehofl.com.
About StakeKings
StakeKings is the largest crowd-staking and event management platform in the world. While StakeKings is best known for its staking software, the platform is launching its new event management feature this month. This new feature will allow event organizers to utilize StakeKings built-in cashier for simple payment processing, registration, prize distribution, and crowd-staking for event participants all in one platform. To learn more about StakeKings, visit www.StakeKings.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made herein are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words and phrases such as “opportunity,” “future,” “will,” “goal,” and “look forward” and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside the Company’s control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors, among others, that may affect actual results or outcomes include the inability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the business combination; costs related to the business combination; the inability to obtain or maintain the listing of the Company’s shares on Nasdaq; the Company’s ability to manage growth; the Company’s ability to execute its business plan and meet its projections; potential litigation involving the Company; changes in applicable laws or regulations; general economic and market conditions impacting demand for the Company’s products and services, and in particular economic and market conditions in the resort and entertainment industry; the potential adverse effects of the ongoing global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on capital markets, general economic conditions, unemployment and the Company’s liquidity, operations and personnel, as well as those risks and uncertainties discussed from time to time in our reports and other public filings with the SEC. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
