Ann Arbor Could Be Home To One Of Sports Illustrated’s First College Town Resorts
Think Ann Arbor is already the ultimate experience in college sports, especially when one of the University of Michigan teams is in action? Even so, the bar is about to get raised again, this time by one of the biggest names in sports media.
Recently, Sports Illustrated launched its new line of college town resorts by announcing that one of the first could be built in Ann Arbor, home to the Michigan Wolverines.
Chris Schroeder, CEO Sports Illustrated Resorts, penned this release earlier this fall letting everyone know what to expect.
"Sports Illustrated is one of the world’s most iconic brands and Sports Illustrated Resorts is focusing on bringing our unique properties to select university markets that have a strong heritage of excellence," Schroeder said. "At this time we have already announced a property by University of Alabama campus and with our P3 developer and consultant Cobblestone Development, we are in serious discussions with officials from the City of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan to evaluate a potential opportunity to include Ann Arbor as a destination.
"Ann Arbor has become a great destination for locals, visitors and conference attendees that increase hotel stays and improve economic vitality to retailers and restaurants. Sports Illustrated Resorts would be an added attraction that would help drive more visitation, plus we would be focused on including a significant conference facility that would allow Ann Arbor to compete with other cities that have more conference capabilities. This we believe would provide a very positive direct and indirect economic impact to the city and we are commissioning an analysis collaboratively with Destination Ann Arbor to collect additional data on such an impact, and once completed we will provide further details. “
Sports Hospitality Ventures, under license from Authentic Brands Group, launched Sports Illustrated Resorts in 2022. Kituwah LLC, the business entity of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, became a key partner and made a capital commitment of $320 million to expand the Sports Illustrated Resorts brand.
The first Sports Illustrated Resorts property opened in 2022 in Cap Cana, Dominican Republic, and was subsequently used as a shooting location for the 2023 SI Swimsuit Issue. It's amenities include golf, sport fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling, horseback riding, water sports, zip lining, biking and hiking. Another site is set to open in Orlando in 2024.
The destinations are being grouped into three categories: beach and resort, experiences, and "OnCampus." Vacation club members will be able to take advantage of offerings from all three groups. Additional college town destinations are expected to be announced in the future.
