SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The global game of basketball began just an outlet pass from downtown Springfield and that continues to be celebrated today.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has recently completed a $25-million capital campaign to upgrade the entire facility.
This museum is totally redone, every square inch – for the past three years we’ve been working on renovating the entire museum," said John Doleva, the President and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Among the upgraded areas of the Hall of Fame is the re-imagined “Ring of Honor” where Doleva said visitors can take a deeper dive to learn more about their favorite hoop legend.
“It's all digital,” said Doleva, “you’re not looking at a plaque anymore, you’re not looking at a couple of photographs… You are really learning a lot about these halls of famers on a much more personal and intimate level.”
Doleva also pointed to another important addition to the Hall of Fame; The new Kobe Bryant exhibit.
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“Vanessa Bryant was very involved in designing this after Kobe passed, she’s very proud of it,” Doleva said.
Lakers fan Byron Dominik visited the Hall from Munich, Germany.
“Growing up watching Shaq and Kobe was just awesome and it’s been imprinted on me for life,” Dominik said.
For fans of both the men’s and women’s game, the NBA or International Game Doleva stressed that they have something for everyone at the Hoop Hall of Fame.
“A visit to the Hall of Fame is just something that’s a one and done, it’s an evolving museum. We realize that Basketball history was as soon as last night, so we are very much staying up with the contemporary game.”
To learn more about the Basketball Hall of Fame, click here.
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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