National Football League

Pro Football Hall of Fame to open research center

Published Jul. 27, 2012 3:43 p.m. ET

foxsports

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.