The day before the 52nd Super Bowl kicks off in Minneapolis, the Putnam Museum and Science Center in Davenport plans to open “Gridiron Glory,” a traveling Pro Football Hall of Fame exhibit.
It will be on display from Feb. 3 until June.
The Putnam recently was awarded $50,000 by the Regional Development Authority to help bring the 7,500-square-foot exhibit here.
“Gridiron Glory: The Best of the Pro Football Hall of Fame” has been touring the country since it opened in 2012 in Pittsburgh.
The exhibit features hundreds of artifacts from the Hall of Fame’s collection in Canton, Ohio, and “captures the essence of the Hall of Fame experience,” according to profootballhof.com/connect/gridiron-glory.
The exhibit has been featured in every Super Bowl city since its opening and currently is in Boston. The interactive multimedia experience includes material from NFL Films, immersive fan experiences, and a “Hometown Tribute” section to spotlight the closest pro teams. At the Putnam, that tribute will include jerseys and video footage of the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.
Exhibit artifacts include Barry Sanders’ Lions jersey from the 1997 game in which he became the third player in history to break the 2,000-yard rushing mark, and one of the Hall of Fame’s rarest documents, an 1892 accounting ledger from football’s first paid player.
The Putnam plans to schedule companion events during the exhibit’s run, such as tailgate parties with area high school marching bands and perhaps a rooftop concert concert through a partnership with River music Experience.