Companies to produce six original longform
episodes that follow participants of the second annual NFL Alumni
Academy at the Hall of Fame Village powered by Johnson Controls
Team Whistle, the global sports and entertainment media company
today announced a partnership with WaV Sports, a global sports
marketing firm and Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company
(NASDAQ: HOFV, HOFVW) to launch a football-themed docuseries, “The
Academy”. “The Academy” will be a six-episode longform docuseries
that will follow athletes participating in the second season of the
NFL Alumni Academy, the first-ever in-season NFL player replacement
and training program for aspiring NFL players at the Hall of Fame
Village powered by Johnson Controls.
“The Academy”, which is currently being filmed and intended to
be released in early 2022, will offer sports fans a
behind-the-scenes look into the training techniques, strength
programs, and the mental toughness required of these participants
as they fight to make their pro football dreams a reality. The
companies are currently in discussions regarding a distribution
partner. In addition to the docuseries, Whistle Studios will
develop corresponding short-form videos from the NFL Alumni Academy
that it will post on its social media platforms, which collectively
reach more than 629 million people.
“Whistle Studios is focused on telling relatable and inspiring
sports stories that show the triumph of the human spirit through
struggle, perseverance, and growth,” said Mike Basone, Head of
Unscripted at Whistle Studios. “The journey the athletes of the NFL
Alumni Academy undergo to become NFL ready is arduous with moments
of both conflict and elation. We are excited to be partnering with
the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company as well as WaV
Sports to tell these important untold stories.”
“The popularity of series like Hard Knocks and Last Chance U has
confirmed that people crave original content centered on the game
of football,” said Michael Crawford, President and CEO of Hall of
Fame Resort & Entertainment Company. “We are seeking to
replicate this playbook with ‘The Academy’ by allowing fans to see
first-hand how hard these athletes train and how much they
sacrifice in order to make it to the next level. We believe the
program gives the talent currently participating in the program
opportunities to have their own ‘Rudy moments,’ where through hard
work and determination, they can achieve their dreams of playing in
the NFL.”
“WaV Sports & Entertainment is excited to be partnering with
like-minded companies like Whistle Studios and Hall of Fame Report
& Entertainment Company to produce this inspiring docuseries
that tells the stories of young men who are putting everything on
the line to achieve their dreams of an NFL career,” said Brian
Klaasmeyer, CEO of WaV Media. “An incredible staff of coaches has
been assembled to hone the skills of these athletes. It’s going to
be a must see.”
“There isn’t anything else like this happening in pro football
today,” shared Dean Dalton, Executive Director of the NFL Alumni
Academy & CEO of WaV Management. “The Academy is a unique
opportunity for some of the most promising up and coming athletes
in football to be trained in an environment like no other by some
of the best to ever coach or play the game. And then to
additionally be able to share these stories with the world makes it
even more special.”
“The Academy” will be Executive Produced by Mike Basone and
Melanie Capacia Johnson from Whistle Studios, Olivia Steier from
Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company and Dean Dalton and
Brian Klaasmeyer from WaV Sports & Entertainment.
The NFL Alumni Academy was hailed by CBS Sports’ NFL Insider
Jason La Canfora as “deserving of more attention” for the model it
utilizes to prepare its participants for the next level, focusing
on improving the strength and conditioning, techniques and
knowledge of the game with the goal of preparing players’ bodies
and minds for lengthy careers in the NFL. Participants of the
program train alongside and receive hands-on coaching from some of
the top minds in professional football. This year’s roster of
coaches includes former Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Mike Tice,
Hall of Fame Offensive Lineman Anthony Munoz, as well as NFL
veterans Steve Smith, Jay Hayes, Chuck Smith, Moe Williams, David
Walker and Ted Cottrell while the legendary Chip Smith serves as
Performance Coach.
About Whistle Studios
Whistle Studios is an Emmy winning, globally distributed,
production company built from a foundation of companies that
includes Whistle, New Form, Tiny Horse, and Vertical Networks.
Whistle Studios tells unforgettable stories and produces the
highest quality original series in a variety of formats including
scripted, unscripted and interactive. Most recently, they won an
Emmy for a non-fiction reality series for ‘Prideland’ on PBS which
follows queer ‘Pose’ actor, Dyllón Burnside, as he explores LGBTQ
discovery across the South. Their ‘Benedict Men’ docu-series from
Executive Producer and basketball superstar Stephen Curry, and
Emmy-award winning Documentarian Jonathan Hock, which started on
Quibi and is now on Roku, was nominated for an NAACP Image Award.
The studio has an upcoming series ‘Legacy’ with NBA Icon, Dwayne
Wade, airing on Discovery+ which follows the progeny of top pro
athletes who are trying to make a name for themselves — including
Wade’s son, Zaire Wade, as he navigates his senior year of high
school as an NCAA Division I basketball prospect. We have a slate
of new shows in development and pre-production with celebrities
across entertainment and sports - including Oscar winning actress
Genna Davis, NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony, actor Brian Tyree Henry
(Atlanta, Godzilla.) They produce series and provide production
services for partners like YouTube Premium, The Olympic Channel,
TruTV, HBO Max, MGM/Orion, Facebook Watch, Adult Swim, NBC Sports,
CW, Nickelodeon, TBS, Tubi, Discovery, Magnolia Networks and Snap
Originals among many others. Learn more at teamwhistle.com/studio.
Whistle Studios serves as the production arm of Team Whistle, a
sports and entertainment media company that sees 4 billion
cross-platform video views each month.
About the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment
Company
The 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 WaV Sports and Entertainment LLC
WaV Sports & Entertainment is a global sports marketing firm
that specializes in sports property representation, brand side
representation, and the management and production of unique
sporting and entertainment events. WaV exclusively represents,
manages and operates the NFL Alumni Academy and various other NFL
Alumni initiatives such as their youth educational programming
known as the Pro Day Experience. Additional information on the
Company can be found at www.WaVsports.com.
About the NFL Alumni Association
The NFL Alumni Association is a nationwide organization of
former National Football League players, coaches and other
employees whose mission is to serve, assist and inform former
players and their families. The association offers a variety of
medical, financial and social programs to help members lead
healthy, productive and connected lives, as well as community
initiatives under the NFL Alumni’s “Caring for Kids” programs. The
NFL Alumni Association hosts the NFL Alumni Academy Player
Development Program each football season at the Hall of Fame
Village powered by Johnson Controls in Canton, Ohio.
About the NFL Alumni Academy
The NFL Alumni Academy provides a pathway for the top-graded
free agent players that were released from NFL training camps to
return to the NFL by giving them the opportunity to further develop
their skills and realize their potential by training under the
tutelage of elite former NFL coaches, players and performance
coaches. The Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium at the Hall of Fame
Village powered by Johnson Controls will initially serve as the NFL
Alumni Academy’s headquarters and training facility. The Academy
will then move to the Center for Performance, which will be located
on the Village’s campus and is anticipated to be completed in 2022.
The Center for Performance will feature an 80,000-square-foot,
state-of-the-art indoor field house and training facility, among
other amenities.
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 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,
including refinancing its existing term loan and obtaining
financing to construct planned facilities; 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.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211012005384/en/
Media Inquiries Public.Relations@hofreco.com
Investor Inquiries Investor.Relations@hofreco.com
Hall of Fame Resort and ... (NASDAQ:HOFV)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Hall of Fame Resort and ... (NASDAQ:HOFV)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024