CANTON, Ohio -- The Pro Football Hall of Fame's new research and preservation center will officially open Aug. 3, a day before this year's class is inducted.
The 10,000-square-foot center will preserve more than 20 million documents and three million photographic images. The center will be named after Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson, who provided a $2.5 million donation to have the facility built shortly after he was inducted into the hall in 2009.
A lifelong football fan, who founded the Bills in 1960, it is Wilson's desire to preserve the game's legacy for future generations.
The center will include a video conference lab, allowing students access to the hall's assets and its members. It will also feature a collection of rare books and a researcher's reading room.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press