Could the Poconos become the next home of the National Soccer Hall of Fame?
According to a report in The Washington Post, a Pennsylvania group has approached the U.S. Soccer Federation about bringing the Hall to the region, long a popular vacation destination.
The National Soccer Hall of Fame hasn’t had a home since 2010, when the former location in Oneonta, N.Y., closed because of financial difficulties. Most of the artifacts and memorabilia have been housed in a warehouse in North Carolina since the New York museum’s closing, while annual inductions into the Hall have been held at various soccer events across the country.
According to the Post, the group’s plan calls for building a complex in Monroe County, located on the Pennsylvania-New Jersey border. The paper reported that the proposal includes the museum adjacent to a hotel, retail stores, a 5,000-seat stadium, an indoor practice facility and a multitude of outdoor fields.
The Post reported in December that U.S. Soccer granted a nine-month exclusive negotiation period in October to FC Dallas owners the Hunt family and the city of Frisco, Texas, where FCD’s Toyota Stadium is located. If no agreement is reached, that period would presumably expire in July, opening up Hall of Fame negotiations to the Poconos group and other potential suitors.
