SOUTH BEND – The College Football Hall of Fame in downtown South Bend is closed for for good, but it continues to be a financial burden on the city.
Visitors walked through the Hall for the last time on Sunday.
The Hall of Fame cut admission prices to $2 over the weekend to give people extra incentive to visit.
The attraction never lived up to expectations.
When the city first announced the Hall would be coming to South Bend in 1992, then Mayor Joe Kernan said it would draw 200,000 people a year. Instead, it brought in about 115,000 the first year and roughly 60,000 each year after that.
The city still owes $6.4 million on the bonds used to pay for the building, which is now on sale for $2.8 million.
Visitors WSBT talked to and the museum's curator say they are said to see the Hall go.
"What a beautiful building, what a beautiful place for downtown South Bend, and you hope like heck that they don't tear the building down," said visitor John Milliken.
"Obviously, it's sort of bittersweet," said historian and curator Kent Stephens. "We knew three years ago that this day would eventually come, and so the emotions are sort of gone having three years to grieve over it all, so that's really not an issue any longer."
The College Football Hall of Fame is expected to open in Atlanta in 2014.
