Mascot Hall Of Fame Coming To Northwest Indiana
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The national Mascot Hall of Fame has announced it is opening a multi-million dollar facility in Whiting, Indiana, in 2017.
WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports Benny the Bull, Staley the Bear, Tommy Hawk, and the Phillie Phanatic were among the mascots on hand for the announcement at Oil City Stadium in Whiting.
Mayor Joseph Stahura said the hall is "right up the same alley" as the city's annual Pierogi Festival.
"It's typical Whiting," he said. "The Pierogi Fest has kind of set the tone for us. It's a very wacky and very fun festival, and the Mascot Hall of Fame won't disappoint."
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The current Mascot Hall of Fame is just a website. Whiting has partnered with the Raymond Entertainment Group to open a 25,000-square-foot Hall of Fame building at 119th and Front streets in 2017.
Dave Raymond was the original Phillie Phanatic from 1978 to 1993, and founded the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2005.
"I liken it unto the way the Phillies organization was when I was 20 years old, and starting the Phanatic. They said 'Go have fun,'" he said.
Raymond called Whiting the "little silly, wacky, fun city that could."
