Sports Illustrated Resorts eyeing Ann Arbor for hotel and conference center

Ann Arbor is in talks with Sports Illustrated Resorts about developing a sports-themed, high-rise hotel and conference center downtown.
The site at the center of those talks is the city-owned Kline Lot, a large public parking lot along Ashley Street behind a row of Main Street businesses, City Administrator Milton Dohoney confirmed in an interview Thursday, Sept. 28.

“At this point, we’re in discussions,” Dohoney said, adding there is no deal yet and the resort company is still doing its due diligence and gathering information. In a statement published by SI.com, Chris Schroeder, CEO of Sports Illustrated Resorts, said he was in serious discussions with Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan to “evaluate a potential opportunity” in the hometown of the Wolverines.



“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,” he said. “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.”

The company is commissioning an analysis with Destination Ann Arbor to collect additional data on the economic impacts and plans to provide more details once that’s done.

In a social media post on Thursday, the city called it “exciting news for Ann Arbor.”
https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor...ce-center.html