SI Resorts looks for professional play in college markets

CLEARWATER, Florida — Although the University of Alabama lost its chance to play in the College Football Playoff title game, it’s not a stretch to think of it as the college sports capital of the United States. In fact, Alabama has been featured on more covers of Sports Illustrated magazine than any other school.

So, when Travel + Leisure Co and Sports Hospitality Ventures announced last fall that it was introducing a new concept for a network of sports-themed resorts using the Sports Illustrated brand, it was unsurprising that the first location was Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Chris Schroeder

Chris Schroeder, CEO of Clearwater, Florida-based Experiential Ventures Hospitality, which was started to launch Sports Illustrated Resorts, said starting in Tuscaloosa (scheduled to open in 2025) might seem unconventional from a hospitality perspective. But it’s perfect for this concept.

“What we’re designing in Tuscaloosa is really creating an entertainment district,” he said.

That includes a significant food and beverage play and an event space for Sports Illustrated propriety events and things like watch parties, concerts, conferences, as well as corporate, high school or college events. Plans also include a SI Stadium sports bar concept that will be a joint venture with a yet-to-be-named celebrity chef.

Schroeder said there are more challenges with the schedule in a smaller college market, but “we have a lot of different things planned to fill in those dead periods.”

He said while the events and F&B will be targeted at the people staying at the property, he thinks there’s also a big opportunity for local revenue.

“We’re talking about a lot of events where people are coming into town, but we do believe, based on our facilities and the elements of the brand, that there’ll be a lot of locals patronizing the place,” Schroeder said, noting it would be “great to get 25% to 30% local play.”

Where will they be located?

The first SI Resorts property opened in 2022 with a 150-key property in Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic, and there are a handful of other locations already named (Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan, is being explored, plus a larger resort and experiential park in Orlando, which will open this year). Schroeder said others will be named in the coming months.

Kituwah, LLC, the business entity of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is investing more than $320 million over the next four years ($75 million for four new-builds over the next four years for 50% equity) and will be part owners and operators of those Sports Illustrated Resorts.

“They were very interested in investing in a legacy brand. They love sports and hospitality, entertainment and all these elements that come together with this brand,” Schroeder said. “They’ve been fantastic partners.”

Schroeder said each project could have a unique set of investors attached to it. Travel + Leisure will be involved with its Vacation Club, the condominium, and the branded-residence component.

“We’ll do everything from joint ventures where they bring capital to sub-license agreements, where we’re working with somebody who owns a hotel or wants to build, project manage it or just wants to brand it,” he said. 

Schroder said they aren’t just limited to college markets for the resorts. They are looking at larger markets and potentially tying the resorts to new stadiums or entertainment districts around sports venues.

SI Resorts Cap Cana

Conversion opportunities

Schroeder said that while there will be “at least” four new-builds over the four years and potentially more, he thinks the brand also has a great ability for conversions.

“We are looking for some great rebranded properties,” he said. “We do bring capital to the table to do renovation. We’re usually looking for joint ventures and an owner who has a property and would like to rebrand or reposition this property. We can bring key money to the table to help reposition the property.”

Schroeder said they are looking for properties where “the bones are in good shape, and we’re not going to do heavy construction” and can be easily improved by using the intellectual property of Sports Illustrated. Potential properties are in high-traffic locations near a city center, stadium, or university.

“You’d be very surprised at how little the capex it takes because a lot of what we’re doing is, for example, taking a blank wall and putting some of our Sports Illustrated imagery on there that could change the room.”

Schroeder cites a restaurant rebranding in Cap Cana with a 40-foot-long mural that used SI assets to showcase the history of baseball in the Dominican Republic.

“That didn’t cost much to do, and it changes the entire room,” he said. “Depending on the property, we think that this will raise the rates, the occupancy, the food and beverage revenues and the notoriety.” 

What’s the segment, size, ADR?

Schroeder said a 150-key resort is the right size for a market like Tuscaloosa, with another 75 Vacation Club condominiums and another 25 to 50 branded residences. Depending on the market, some could be larger. He said Orlando’s will be 450 to 500 rooms with probably another 150 to 200 condos.

SI Resorts pool rendering

“Right now, based on our studies, there’s a great demand for, and a lack of branded residential that are outside of that ultra-luxury resident class… We believe that there’s going to be a very strong demand for that,” he said.  

Schroeder said SI Resorts would be in the upscale to upper-upscale segments and have an ADR that will be comparable or higher to upper-upscale properties because of the experiential nature of the resorts. He said the locations will be important and “also dictate our higher rates.”

Schroeder said he expects five to eight properties in the next five years and 20 in the next 10 years. But he also admits he is not being aggressive with those numbers.

“I’m being conservative right now, but we have eight new-builds in the pipeline,” he said. “We’re positioned to where we could have 15 to 20 new properties over the next five years.”