ANN ARBOR, MI — Standing on the city-owned Klein Lot along Ashley Street in downtown Ann Arbor, Chris Schroeder can’t help but imagine the possibilities.
A resident of the Ann Arbor area for more than 30 years, he currently serves as CEO of Sports Illustrated Resorts. The company laid out a vision to build a sports-themed high-rise hotel, conference center and condominiums on a nearly block-long parking lot. Behind the main street businesses.
Schroeder and his team have been meeting privately with city officials to discuss the concept, and details are starting to emerge, but nothing is final yet.
He spoke with MLive/Ann Arbor News to discuss the possibility of a 16-story development estimated to cost more than $200 million, and shared renderings of what it could look like.
Some of the features include a Fab Five court that pays homage to the University of Michigan Wolverines basketball team of the early 1990s, a rooftop field area called the SI Fit Deck, and sports illustrated images showcasing notable UM athletes. Hall of Champions.
“It’s literally like walking in and seeing Jim Harbaugh, Michael Phelps and Tom Brady,” he said of the images lining the entrance hall and lobby. “We also want to focus on both women’s and men’s sports.”
Even for visitors who aren’t Wolverines fans, there will be a “great mix of Sports Illustrated in general,” Schroeder said.
And if anyone is worried that it’s going to look like a big theme park, Schroeder says there’s no need to worry. It will be a well-designed building with a brick and glass facade, and perhaps some public art elements around the parking deck area.
“No, there are no Disneyland attractions,” he said, adding there are no screaming neon lights.
“All we’re really doing is building something called the Field of Dreams,” Schroeder said, a large ground space with artificial turf on the corner of William and Ashley streets. The plan was explained. It looks like you’re entering a stadium, with several doorways off the sidewalk that remain open when the weather is nice.
“When you walk in, it’s going to be like a big food court, a community area,” Schroeder said, adding there will also be micro-restaurant space catering to local chefs.
He said it would be a great space to host events and watch parties, and kids would be able to run around and play while parents sit and eat food and drinks.
“We have a big screen, so we might have movie nights there, family movie nights,” he said.
Part of the building is proposed to be branded as SI Stadium, featuring an upscale sports bar and grill with an award-winning chef. A separate social or meeting space called Club SI serves cocktails and wine. Meanwhile, the SI Trophy Room is a space to watch the game with friends in a more upscale setting, a hideaway-type clubhouse filled with vintage memorabilia.
SI Fit Fitness Center can also be opened to the public as a commercial gym.
The resort is available for a variety of events, including weddings, city and regional events, and yoga classes on the deck with views of Michigan Stadium.
Mr. Schroeder is also the CEO of a Florida-based company called Experiential Ventures Hospitality, which has worked on dozens of marketing, branding and development projects including the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and Sports Illustrated’s parent company, Authentic Brands. I’ve spent years on it. He worked with SI on a project that involved a 42-foot mural depicting the history of baseball in the Dominican Republic and needed images, he said.
Sports Illustrated is an iconic magazine brand that has been a sports diary for 70 years, he said, and how he now plans to leverage that into a new line of college town resorts. I explained what was going on.
Ann Arbor is one of two proposed locations announced so far, the other being Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Schroeder said at least two other universities are in the plans and several others have offered to collaborate, but he did not yet name the others.
Schroeder said the university market is a natural fit for the venture. And while some critics may call this an unproven or unproven concept, he’s bullish about it.
“We bring this brand to life,” he said. “For a time, Hard He Rock and Nobody did Margaritaville.”
Another Schroeder project, Emmitt’s, a Las Vegas restaurant named after former NFL football player Emmitt Smith, has been embroiled in legal battles and delays. According to media reports.
“We had a partner who stole from us, but that’s all been resolved and we’re currently on track to open in January,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder said if the SI Resorts deal works out for Ann Arbor, the city won’t be in financial trouble. In fact, the city could make money from it, he said.
“The city is not investing,” he says. “We are building bond-type structures that have worked for a variety of purposes in many other cities.”
He said Sports Illustrated Resorts would lease the land if the city agrees.
Schroeder said Ann Arbor is currently missing out on billions of dollars worth of events and conferences without space.
He noted that his wife is a teacher in Ann Arbor Public Schools and said the revenue the project would bring to the community could help invest in roads, parks and schools. The project’s lead architect, Lina Chiu of the Lamar Johnson Collaborative, is also an Ann Arbor native and UC graduate.
Ann Arbor officials and residents have had mixed feelings about the project so far, with some calling it a departure from previous talk about affordable housing on the site.
As for whether the two ideas can be merged, Schroeder said the project would generate revenue that the city could use for affordable housing, but he doesn’t think it would work due to space constraints. An economic impact study is underway, he added.
For downtown businesses and visitors concerned about losing 143 public parking spots, Schroeder said the new parking deck built at the SI Building will have about twice the space and will be used by the public and city public. He said it could be opened to the public. Parking fees will still be charged. But there could also be more than 200 hotel rooms and about 100 condominiums in the sky, according to preliminary plans.
One of the ways the resort attracts visitors is by holding the SI “Athlete of the Year” awards event, which annually recognizes a special person from each high school in the area and from local communities up to four and a half hours away. It’s about bringing people in, Schroeder said. .
He estimates the resort could host about 100 such events a year while providing scholarships.
Schroeder said there will be condos in the building that people can purchase, but there will also be a “vacation club” membership option that gives parents of UM alumni and students a place to visit without having to buy an entire condo, for example. It’s planned.
He said the building was designed to meet green building standards and some of the gym equipment actually generates energy when used.
Odis Jones, CEO of Texas-based Cobblestone Development, is part of the project team. He previously worked for Ann Arbor City Administrator Milton Dohaney in Cincinnati.
Ann Arbor officials divided on next steps with Sports Illustrated Resort idea
Kituwa LLC, an affiliate of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is also an investor, investing more than $300 million in Sports Illustrated Resort.
“We have an entire team that has built over 50 different hotels and resorts,” Schroeder said of the team’s collective experience.
Travel + Leisure Co. is another partner in the company, along with former NBA basketball star Derrick Coleman, whom Schroeder called “a great guy.”
“He’s currently spending a lot of time working with programs for underprivileged youth in Detroit, which I think is great. We have the same goal,” Schroeder said, adding He mentioned plans for youth camps and meet-ups that would give athletes the chance to meet professional and college athletes.
The history and heritage of sports and UM athletics is part of Ann Arbor’s culture, and SI Resorts showcases it in a tasteful, authentic, exciting and unique way, making it a place for locals and visitors alike to enjoy. Schroeder said.
“I think it’s going to be something that the community will really be proud of,” he said.
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