17TH IN A SCPR SERIES ON HOF FINANCIAL PROBLEMS. "THE ROOF IS FALLING-IN AT 2121 HALAS DRIVE?

It appears that "the roof fell in" at the Pro Football Hall of Fame complex at 8:58 a.m. on Friday, March 16th.

No "luck of the Irish" for HOF Village, LLC creditors in avoiding the filing a $5.3 million mortgage lien on forty (40)  parcels of HOF Village LLC properties  (one parcel unidentified, hmm! wonder which one that was?) contained in the mortgage instrument as filed early Friday morning with the Stark County recorder's office.

The recorder's office opens at 8:30 a.m.  Interesting enough, the creditors' representative was at the recorder's office within minutes of it opening.

Obviously, the creditors did not want to file the mortgage.  They just want the rest of the money owed to them.

The Stark County Political Report has learned that the agreement was that the mortgagees listed in the above-graphic had agreed to hold the March 2nd executed mortgage (see the entire mortgage instrument in the appendix to this blog) through March 15th on the promise of mortgagor HOF Village LLC (a joint enterprise of master developer Stu Lichter's IRG Realty and the National Football Museum, Inc [dba as the Pro Football Hall of Fame]).

Moreover, The Report hears that on Friday, post filing of the mortgage, Lichter and HOF CEO/president C. David Baker were holed up at a local eating establishment likely crying in their beer as they had to be concerned about what the filing might to with HOF Village LLC's effort to get approval of an "up to $100 million bridge loan" with the "the first tranche" expected to be $40 million with, perhaps, more to follow.

$40 million?

Why that's just catching up on the "current" indebtedness obligations, isn't it?

Where's the money coming from to pay the short-term (six months to a year) bridge loan that of course will add a least several million in additional debt?

NOT LOOKIN' GOOD FOR THE HOF-VP FOLKS!

Wonder whether or not Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce president Denny Saunier will go up to 2121 Halas Drive and scream at them for not having had a plan and still not having a "viable" plan?

At the first Strengthening Stark meeting, Saunier lectured central Stark County elected officials on their lack of planning skills.

Or is he like so many so called leaders, a double standard guy.  In other words, a thoroughgoing hypocrite who by virtue of his hypocrisy disqualifies himself to chide the general run of Stark County leaders on financial/economic planning even if he fancies himself by virtue of his private sector position as

If Saunier does dress down the Halas Drive folks, then the "insider"Repository publisher James Porter  (remember:  "The Official Newspaper of the Professional Football Hall of Fame)  will have a scoop to pass on to his reporter staff, no?

The aforementioned mortgage filing could be a turning point signaling that the Canton City Schools are at risk of ending up  with a $170 million to $250 million or "not completely finished" high school football stadium to have to pay a likely high level "utility costs" and "maintenance costs" annual amount.

Of course, as C. David Baker says McKinley students, faculty and administrators can take pride in having "the best damn high school football stadium in America, no?"

Is it time to start talking about ginning up a "Support Our Stadium" (SOS) levy?

APPENDIX

"All 23 Pages of the Mortgage Filed at 8:58 A.M./Friday, March 16, 2018