The making of Gold Jacket City

The City of Canton faces a similar challenge as every massive stadium in the world. Every year in August, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival weekend draws tens of thousands of visitors to Canton, OH. However, for the rest of the year, the city is unable to activate public spaces and attract any out of town visitors especially on non-event days. 

To truly succeed as the American Football city, the city of Canton strives to connect the public assets with Canton Connection. The Canton Connection is a focus area study on the interdependent and interconnected nature of the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village and downtown Canton. It is the first area study within the framework of the Comprehensive Plan connecting four of the six Targeted Core Investment Areas in Canton. The Canton Connection study uses Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory as the organizing structure to formalize the relationship among route, transportation, programs and patron’s experience.  The patrons and their experience are the ultimate factors which determine the success of the Canton Connection. Through persona mapping, the Canton Connection study brings downtown and the Hall of Fame Village together through a memorable and meaningful journey and reinforces the physical, visual, emotional and economic connections between the two.