History: The College Football Hall of Fame was founded in 1951 by the National Football Foundation.
Previous locations: New York, Cincinnati and South Bend, Ind.
The move: In 2009, the NFF board voted to enter into a 30-year license agreement with Atlanta Hall Management, a not-for-profit organization, to build and operate the Hall of Fame here. Originally projected to open in 2012, the project was delayed by fundraising difficulties. Construction finally began in January 2013.
New location: The 94,256-square-foot building is at 250 Marietta Street in downtown Atlanta, across the street from Centennial Olympic Park and adjacent to the Georgia World Congress Center. The site is a former GWCC surface parking lot. Web site: cfbhall.com
Hours of operation: Generally open 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Sundays through Fridays and 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Tickets: Available at www.cfbhall.com and the box office. Priced at $19.99 for full-price adult; $17.99 for ages 65-plus, military and students (available at box office only); $16.99 for kids ages 3-12; free for kids under 3.
Season tickets and group sales: Call 404-880-4800 for information.
Project cost: $68 million, which is privately funded except for $1 million from Invest Atlanta, the city's economic development authority. Not included in the project cost is $15 million that the state spent on an adjacent parking deck, road work and a connector from the front of the Hall of Fame into the Georgia World Congress Center.
Private funding: Raised from corporate sponsorships and a bank loan to be repaid from sponsorship commitments.
Lead sponsor: Chick-fil-A, which is reflected in the attraction's official name: College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience.
Other founding sponsors: AT&T, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Coca-Cola and Kia Motors.
Additional sponsors: Brasfield & Gorrie (general contractor), Georgia-Pacific, Georgia Power, Home Depot, Invest Atlanta, Omni Hotels & Resorts, Piedmont Healthcare, Regions Bank, Southwest Airlines, Sporturf, and Under Armour.
Hall of Fame members: Counting this year's class, 948 players and 207 coaches are in the Hall of Fame from the roughly 5.06 million who have played or coached college football in the past 145 years.
Who selects new Hall of Famers: A lengthy ballot is mailed each year to more than 12,000 National Football Foundation members and current Hall of Famers. The results of that vote are forwarded to the NFF's 17-member "Honors Court," which makes the final decisions on who to induct. The honors court is chaired by former ACC commissioner and former NCAA president Gene Corrigan and consists of athletic directors, conference commissioners, Hall of Famers and media members.
Selection criteria: To be considered for the Hall of Fame, a player must have been a first-team All-American in his level of play (FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III or NAIA) at least one season, while a coach must have been a head coach for at least 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage. A player becomes eligible for consideration 10 years after his final season of college football. A coach becomes eligible three years after retirement from college coaching (or immediately after retirement if at least 70 years old). Those who are playing or coaching on the professional level are not eligible until they retire from pro football. Although a candidate's college-football achievements are the "prime consideration," according to the National Football Foundation, "his post-football record as a citizen is also weighed."
2014 enshrinement ceremony: Oct. 7 at the Hall of Fame.
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