Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company Announces Inducement Equity Grants

Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company (“HOFV” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: HOFV, HOFVW), the only resort, entertainment and media company centered around the power of professional football and owner of the Hall of Fame Village powered by Johnson Controls in Canton, Ohio, today announced that it granted to John Van Buiten, as an inducement to accept his appointment as Vice President of Accounting/Corporate Controller with HOF Village Newco LLC, 14,156 restricted stock units (the “RSUs”) with respect to the Company’s common stock, $0.0001 par value. The Company also granted to Shawn Smith, as an inducement to accept his appointment as Vice President of Marketing with HOF Village Newco LLC, 15,281 RSUs.

The grants were made as inducement awards in accordance with each new employee’s offer of employment and were not granted under the Company’s Amended 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “2020 Plan”), but are subject to substantially the same terms and conditions as the 2020 Plan. For each new employee, the grants, which are subject to award agreements, will vest in one-third increments on each of the first, second and third anniversary of such new employee’s start date, subject to continued service through each applicable vesting date.

About Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company

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.

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 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, the inability to maintain the listing of the Company’s shares on Nasdaq, 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.

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