The start of every NFL season is a time of excitement around the league. Every team has a clean slate, and mathematically, they have the same chance of winning the Super Bowl.
The NFL preseason has come under scrutiny in recent years, with players seeking to play fewer games but owners reluctant to miss out on revenue. While the league opted to shorten the preseason from four games per team to three, that only applies to 30 of the NFL's 32 teams. The two outliers will kick off the NFL preseason by playing in the annual Hall of Fame Game. It's the first preseason game of the year and is held on the Thursday before the NFL's Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
At least one of the teams in the Hall of Fame Game has someone being inducted that year. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton, Ohio, and the Hall of Fame Game is held at Tom Benson Stadium, right behind the Hall of Fame.
Here is more on the stadium and the annual game.
Where is the NFL Hall of Fame Game played?
- Stadium Name: Tom Benson Stadium
- Location: Canton, Ohio
The NFL's Hall of Fame Game is held at Tom Benson Stadium (formerly known as Fawcett Stadium) in Canton, Ohio. The field, which hosts local high school games during the fall, sits behind the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Canton used to have a professional football team called the Bulldogs, which played at League Field from 1905 to 1926.
Fawcett Stadium was built to replace League Field and was named in honor of John Fawcett, a former member of the board of education who had passed away. Former Saints owner Tom Benson donated $11 million to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014, with the majority of it earmarked for stadium renovations. In return, the stadium was renamed in his honor in 2017, before he passed away in 2018.
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Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium details
Location
Tom Benson Stadium is located in Canton, Ohio. It is part of Hall of Fame Village, which includes the Pro Football Hall of Fame next door and several practice football fields located in front of it. The stadium is right on the side of I-77, and drivers can catch glimpses of the action under the bright lights whenever they drive by.
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Capacity
Following the renovations done to the stadium, it has a capacity of 23,000. This is why it only hosts an exhibition NFL game. The capacity comes in well short of the smallest active NFL Stadium. As of 2025, Soldier Field in Chicago has the smallest capacity among NFL stadiums at 61,500.
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Year constructed
Tom Benson Stadium was constructed in 1938. It originally was called Fawcett Stadium and had that name until it was dedicated to Tom Benson in 2017, thanks to a donation from the then-owner of the Saints.
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What is the NFL Hall of Fame Game?
The NFL's Hall of Fame Game was first played in 1962. It celebrated the groundbreaking project on the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the game itself was used as a fundraising project to raise money for the Hall of Fame. The New York Giants took on the St. Louis Cardinals, and the game ended in a 21-21 tie.
From 1971 to 2010, the opponents for the game almost always included a representative from the NFC and one from the AFC. Schedulers attempted to include a team that had a prominent member in its history who was heading into the Hall of Fame. This was done to help draw up hype for the ceremony itself, a few days after the game. Since 2011, at least one team in the annual Hall of Fame Game has featured a Hall of Fame inductee from that year, and this trend is expected to become a tradition.
The last four NFL expansion teams have all played their first game in the Hall of Fame Game. All 32 NFL franchises as of 2025 have appeared in at least one Hall of Fame Game. It's the only NFL game of the week in the preseason, meaning that the two chosen teams play an extra preseason game compared to their peers. The Hall of Fame Game, like the rest of the preseason, is an exhibition and does not count for a team's regular-season record. It has also been ended early in the past due to inclement weather, since there isn't a required reason for the game to finish.