With a record turnout expected for the upcoming Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival in Canton, some highway access and parking changes for visitors are taking place.
The interchange for the Hall of Fame from the expressway beside it has been a traffic-flow problem for about half a century.
Hall of Fame Vice President of Operations/Facilities Kevin Shiplett said with the larger numbers of visitors now and much larger numbers expected in the future, the Ohio Department of Transportation is remedying that.
“Interstate 77 and Fulton Road exit, and the Route 62 weave, they started to work on that a couple of months ago. That is scheduled to open up this Wednesday (July 24),” he said.
Shiplett said parking for the Hall of Fame weekend is now streamlined, too.
“On those event days, all public parking is directed to the Stark County Fairgrounds. And then we are able to shuttle all of those guests over here and drop them off conveniently right at the stadium gates,” he said.
According to Shiplett, the Hall of Fame has "a great relationship" with the Stark Area Regional Transist Authority and an agreement for the agency to provide a constant shuttle service for the mile-and-a-half run to and from the fairgrounds.
This year’s festival weekend is Aug. 2 to 5.
