Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company Appoints Tara Charnes as General Counsel

CANTON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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 has named experienced legal professional Ms. Tara Charnes as its new General Counsel, effective Monday, August 31, 2020. Ms. Charnes brings almost 20 years of legal experience to HOFV.

Ms. Charnes has served as in-house counsel for multiple publicly traded Fortune 1,000 companies, advising executive leadership, the board of directors, and business partners on a wide array of matters, including SEC and corporate governance, intellectual property, advertising, employment, and litigation management. She brings a diverse portfolio of practical experience acquired from her time spent leading nearly every facet of a legal department.

“Tara is an exciting addition to our leadership team,” said Michael Crawford, President and CEO of HOFV. “She has deep knowledge of legal, compliance, and governance matters, the public markets and the SEC, and is widely respected across the corporate landscape. Her expertise will be a welcome addition for us as a newly public company.”

Ms. Charnes joins HOFV having most recently served as Vice President, Litigation for Big Lots!, where she led the company’s strategic approach to securities, consumer and wage and hour class action litigation, as well as intellectual property disputes, employment litigation and other aspects of litigation and claims. She achieved multi-million dollar savings while successfully implementing significant operational efficiencies and served on the company’s Enterprise Risk Management Steering Committee.

Prior to Big Lots!, Ms. Charnes served as Director, North America Legal, Securities and Corporate Governance for The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, where she worked closely with the executive management team and board of directors on SEC and corporate governance matters, and managed multiple other legal department functions, including litigation, compliance, advertising and commercial law. Before that, she was a member of the Securities, Competition and Complex Litigation Group at international law firm Sidley & Austin LLP. She also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Kenneth F. Ripple of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Ms. Charnes earned her Juris Doctor summa cum laude from the Valparaiso University School of Law, where she was executive editor of student writing for the Valparaiso Law Review. She earned her Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from Denison University. Ms. Charnes looks forward to relocating with her husband, Clint, and three children to the Canton area from Columbus, Ohio, in the near future.

About the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company

The 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.