CANTON – Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co. is restating financial results for last year following a rules change by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Earlier this month, the SEC issued a “staff statement” that recommended changes in accounting and reporting rules for warrants issued by a special purpose acquisition companies. The SEC encouraged the companies to amend financial statements that already had been filed. Hall of Fame Resort formed last July 1 with the merger of Hall of Fame Village LLC and Gordon Pointe Acquisition Corp., which was a special purpose acquisition company. The new company issued warrants that allowed the owner to buy 1.421333 shares of Hall of Fame Resort stock. The warrants can be traded on an exchange, similar to stock. The new company was created to complete the Hall of Fame Village powered by Johnson Controls, a multi-use facility that will create a campus around the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Plans are to build a hotel, retail shopping area, water park, offices, indoor sports center and other facilities. Restating 2020 earnings The SEC action means Hall of Fame Resort will restate earnings reports issued for the third and fourth quarters of 2020, representing the first six months the new company was operating. The rules change affects the accounting process used for warrants issued as part of last summer’s merger. When HOF Village and Gordon Pointe merged, warrants were issued that allowed holders to buy shares of stock in Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment. When the new company filed earnings reported last year, the warrants were listed as an equity. Because of the SEC change, the warrants now will be listed as liabilities. The change means the company will see an additional $25 million of non-operating income for 2020. That will decrease Hall of Fame Resort’s net operating loss by about $25 million, according to a filing with the SEC on Thursday. Hall of Fame Resort reported a loss of $71.5 million last year, compared with a loss of $55.9 million the previous year. The loss came on revenue of $7.1 million, down 9.7% from 2019 revenue of $7.86 million. The $25 million figure could change, Michael Crawford, Hall of Fame Resort president and chief executive officer, explained in a letter to shareholders. The letter also is filed with the SEC. The company still is completing the new earnings statements, and those statements will be reviewed by the company’s independent accounting firm. Operations aren’t affected While the bottom line numbers likely will change, the company’s cash flows, cash and cash equivalents and liquidity aren’t affected by the change in accounting for the warrants, Crawford wrote. “The company will remain in compliance with all of its financial covenants under its credit facilities, after giving effect to the restatement,” Crawford’s letter states. Crawford said Hall of Fame Resort is one of several companies that will have to change financial statements because of the SEC rules change. Hall of Fame Resort is now constructing the Constellation Center for Excellence, an office building and retail center west of the football stadium. Later this year, work is set to begin on the hotel and a retail promenade, with construction of the water park and the center for performance to follow. The company’s SEC filings from last year indicate the second phase of construction will be finished by 2023. The cost is estimated at $300 million. Hall of Fame Village is one of three business segments for the company, along with media and gaming.