The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- August 2, 1999

Championing the Hall

NCAA's new facility to offer the 'hows' and 'wows' of college sports

BY GARY T. BROWN
STAFF WRITER

The old NCAA Hall of Champions was a nice addition to the national office. That may just be the reverse with the national office relocation to Indianapolis -- the office just might be a nice addition to the Hall.

Billed as the definitive college sports museum, the new Hall of Champions will be, if not the eighth wonder of the world, at least the eighth wonder of Indiana.

The new Hall will feature something for everyone -- from interactive video screens to a ground-floor view of the rigors of college sports -- and administrators of the NCAA's sparkling showcase hope that there is more of everyone to see it.

"We're expecting increased traffic and accessibility from within the White River State Park location," said the Hall's new director, Jim Shaffer. "The old facility presented some difficulty with its location. Now we're going to have a very prominent position within the White River State Park and surrounding area."

The new Hall will occupy more than 35,000 square feet and trace the history and glory of past and present NCAA champions, from the first championship in 1921 -- track and field -- to the modern competitions of water polo and field hockey. All 22 sports and 81 national championships administered by the NCAA will be highlighted.

Some of the pageantry will include banners that will hang from the 50-foot ceiling of the Great Hall celebrating current NCAA champions. Two levels of exhibits will feature highly interactive displays and state-of-the-art technology. There will be trivia games to play, multimedia video presentations to see, computer games to challenge and hands-on displays to touch.

"I think people will be pleasantly surprised by all the different audio visual and media presentations throughout the facility as well as all the different interactive touch screens that dive deeper into the history of the NCAA," said Jeff Hiller, former director of the Hall of Champions. "The opportunity to learn more what the NCAA is all about is going to be much greater in this facility. As opposed to just looking at pictures, now there are things you can actually learn about. Both history and education will be prominently featured, plus it's going to be so much more entertaining. The old hall was geared more for the 16-40 age group -- this one's going to be for everyone."

Hiller is serving as production coordinator through the end of July when he will leave the NCAA staff. He said the amount of research required for the exhibits, and the accelerated time frame in which to coordinate the efforts of several design teams, architects and builders, has been challenging.

"But there's no question that it's going to be a first-class facility once it's done and up and running," Hiller said.

Financial solvency

One of the disappointing factors with the old Hall of Champions was that it never met projected traffic expectations. Part of that was because of its location in suburban Overland Park, Kansas, where it was relatively isolated as a tourist attraction. The old Hall also didn't generate much revenue because there wasn't much corporate buy-in or marketing on a big-time scale.

One goal of the new Hall is financial solvency -- perhaps sooner than later. A more strategic location at the center of several Indianapolis attractions, enhanced exhibits created by world-class designers, stimulating technology and increased accessibility should make the new Hall a marketing magnet for NCAA corporate partners and other major companies.

Hiller said the new Hall already has secured several in-kind sponsorships, and more could be on the way, ranging from corporate naming rights to programming rights.

Such corporate backing will be the key to the new Hall's financial existence. Hiller said while the new facility will not fill the Association's coffers, it should not be a drain on the Association's operating budget either.

"Quite honestly, in all of our research we did with other sports museums around the country, we didn't find one that makes money," Hiller said. "I don't know if many people realize how much it takes to keep them up and running. But we don't want to take any more money from the NCAA operating budget. And that's been communicated early on from the Executive Committee."

Hiller said the budget for the exhibit designs is between $6 and $6.5 million, not including the shell of the building, the build-out and the construction. Those dollars were factored in as part of the $50 million-plus package put together by Indiana interests for the total relocation of the national office, but as far as annual operating costs go, administrators want the Hall to have its own pocketbook and not borrow from the NCAA.

"The key is to secure appropriate sponsorship and funding as well as develop a strong membership base to supplement attendance," Shaffer said. "Our goal is to grow the Hall to become a self-sufficient operation. We hope to accomplish this within a reasonable time period and perhaps create an endowment for the Hall to offset operations."

The 'wow' factor

One thing the Hall staff is certain of is the quality of the experience visitors will have once they tour the facility, an experience made possible by those who championed the Hall -- from the state of Indiana to the design teams of 1717 and Pyramid Studios, to the people of White River State Park, and to the project team members from both Kansas City and Indianapolis. Hiller said the group left nothing unexplored.

"It's going to be hard for people not to say 'wow' when they enter this place," Hiller said. "There are so many things that make college sports unique, and the new Hall will have just as many things that make it unique as well."

Some of the "wows" include a wrap-around, 144-monitor video wall directly above the entrance atrium. Hiller called the wall a one-of-a-kind sports imagery showcase paying larger-than-life homage to champions in all NCAA sports. In addition, four theaters will offer a mix of video presentations, including a "locker room" theater and a "classroom" theater that will offer insights into the world of college athletics by celebrated coaches and student-athletes.

"No question, the Hall will be the premier image piece for the national office," Shaffer said. "We are confident that the membership will look at this with great pride -- not only for what it represents to the NCAA but for intercollegiate athletics in general.

Once people come through for committee meetings or other events, they'll leave with a sense of pride -- and a realization that the new Hall was something the Association needed.

"It also will be a premier tourist attraction for Indianapolis and Indiana, which we are committed to developing because of the city's and state's commitment to relocate the NCAA."

The Hall will open in mid-March of 2000 in conjunction with the Men's Final Four in Indianapolis.