Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co. to Delist Stock

The Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co. is facing the imminent delisting of its common stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market on June 27. The company, established to develop the Hall of Fame Village, was notified on June 18 by Nasdaq about the initiation of delisting procedures. This action was triggered by the company’s failure to hold an annual meeting of shareholders by or before June 30, 2025, as indicated in a recent SEC filing.

In response to the delisting notice, Hall of Fame Resort stated in the filing that it does not plan to challenge Nasdaq’s decision. Instead, the company anticipates that its stock will transition to one of the three tiered marketplaces under the OTC Markets Group. Trading under the symbol HOFV, the stock opened on June 26 at $0.87 and exhibited a slight downward trend in the early afternoon.

The Nasdaq initially issued a warning to the Hall of Fame Resort in January regarding potential delisting due to the absence of a mandatory annual shareholder meeting within 12 months after the conclusion of its 2023 fiscal year. While the company had previously postponed the meeting while engaging in discussions about privatization, it submitted a compliance plan to meet the requirement by June 30.

Subsequently, in April, another delisting warning was issued to the company for trading below $1 per share for 30 consecutive days. The deadline for complying with Nasdaq’s minimum bid requirement is set for October 7. Moreover, in May, Hall of Fame Resort announced an agreement to be acquired by HOFV Holdings LLC, an affiliate of California-based Industrial Realty Group (IRG), led by Stuart Lichter, the Village’s majority shareholder, with ties to project funding.

A recent SEC filing disclosed an amendment to an agreement between Hall of Fame Resort and Lichter’s affiliate, CH Capital Lending LLC, increasing the company’s credit line from $12 million to $14 million. This amendment allows for an additional $2,000,000 directed towards general corporate purposes, subject to certain limitations.

The Stark County Port Authority has entered into at least four preliminary agreements with the company, covering capital leases for the hotel and water park, tax-increment financing bonds, and tourism development district bonds. Assistant Secretary Mike Naso provided an update during the Port Authority board meeting on June 26 regarding the expected extension and restructuring of these agreements in light of the company’s transition from public to private ownership, emphasizing the need for updated details on legal entities, financing structures, and timelines.