SI MISSION

THE MISSION OF SPORTS ILLUSTRATED RESORTS ANN ARBOR.

THE MOST CELEBRATED NAME IN SPORTS HAS CREATED A ONE-OF-A-KIND LIFE LIFESTYLE HOTEL, RESORT & ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE THAT WILL PROVIDE THE CITY OF ANN ARBOR, THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AND THE COMMUNITY WITH A LEGACY PROJECT THAT WILL BENEFIT THEM NOW AND FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

ANN ARBOR PROJECT Q and A

A dna Q
Q: How did the Ann Arbor project originate?

A: SHV A2 Development, LLC, a partnership of Cobblestone Development & Consulting , LLC and Sports Hospitality Development, LLC, an affiliate with Sports Illustrated Resorts, approached the city of Ann Arbor with a proposed plan to make Ann Arbor one of the premiere Sports Illustrated Resorts University projects. Sports Illustrated Resorts was already working on other university town projects, like Tuscaloosa/Univ. of Alabama and given the fact that the founding partner and Chairman/CEO of Sports Illustrated Resorts is a long-time resident of Ann Arbor, it was a natural fit. Additionally, Odis Jones, CEO of Cobblestone Development was born and raised in Detroit, attended Central Michigan University for his undergrad and Western Michigan for his Master of Public Administration. Odis has an incredible proven track record for thoughtfully building communities, placemaking, and working out financing opportunities here in Michigan and around the country. And, one of the executive members of Cobblestone was a celebrated member of the University of Michigan football team at one time.

Q: So, the idea for this entire project and the use of the parking lot on the corner Rendering of SI Resorts Ann Arbor project of William and Ashley was entirely SHV A2 Development?

A: Yes, SHV A2 brought a presentation to the city asking for the city to consider that lot as the place to build a signature Sports Illustrated Hotel including conference center. It was also very important that SHV A2 included the city in the initial ideation of the project by further understanding and addressing the city’s needs. This was done by including various city leaders from different departments and organizations.

Quote from Chris Schroeder, Chairman/CEO of SI Resorts:

“I realized one day when I was walking around downtown Ann Arbor, that there is no convention center in Ann Arbor. I actually drove around and then did research and realized that a place like this has no convention/Community center that could hold significant events. Even in the small town of 20,000 people where I grew up as a child, there was a Convention Center that was the hub of the community and brought in events that were instrumental to the economy of the city. Ann Arbor is continuing to emerge as a world-class city and it is so important to be able to provide a world-class convention facility.”

Quote from Odis Jones, CEO of Cobblestone Development:

“Ann Arbor is an incredible town that is rich with arts, culture, sports, and world-class institutions. This project is an opportunity that will contribute to and be a reflection of the authenticity of Ann Arbor with community-focused design and events. The Sports Illustrated Resort will create opportunities for residents, artists, and local businesses to be a part of it all. It’s also a win-win with the City. The site is currently a brownfield site, requiring a lot of environmental cleanup. After it’s cleaned up and the facility is open, the City of Ann Arbor will receive more than $240 million in tax revenues from the project, in addition to tens of millions in ground lease payments for the lot.”

Q: What are the benefits to the city and community for this project.

A: This project would be one of the most beneficial projects the city has ever done and it is important to note that one of the primary reasons we are building a conference center capable of accommodating larger groups, is that the city simply does not have a conference center capable of hosting large events.

Factoid: Destination Ann Arbor, the economic development organization for the City of Ann Arbor, had over 8,700 requests for proposals from groups considering holding a meeting/event in Ann Arbor. These requests totaled over $5 billion in possible revenues coming into Ann Arbor, which never materialized because Ann Arbor does not have enough suitable space to hold these events or compete against other destinations. Even a fraction of that business coming into Ann Arbor would mean hundreds of millions of dollars going towards local restaurants, retail, hotels and too the county in the form of hotel taxes. Once the Sports Illustrated Resort & Conference Center is built, hundreds of millions in tax revenues over time would be poured into the city from taxes, etc.

Q: What are the benefits to the city of Ann Arbor for supporting this project?

A: For starters, the existing site is a long-time brownfield site, which means it contains contaminates that are considered hazardous, and this project will include cleaning up and transforming a long-standing environmental issue and convert an eyesore parking lot into something that will extend the historic downtown district and create continuity within that block. Right now, there is no activity, no pedestrians, no sense of neighborhood or place, just a big parking lot looking into an alley and the backside of the buildings.

Note: Ann Arbor Arts Center created a beautiful mural to help minimize the look of an alley, and Sports Illustrated Resorts would like to work with the Arts Center to create an attraction and pedestrian area there at night that would include an outdoor art gallery on the side of the Sports Illustrated Resort facing the alley. This would be lit and showcase the existing mural on one side of the alley and the new art on the side of the Resort building, creating a unique arts-centric attraction celebrating local artists.

  • Tax Revenue: More than $400 million in total tax on the project over the course of the 40-year bond. Over the life of the tax-exempt bond used to finance this development, the City of Ann Arbor will receive more than $240 million in tax revenues from the project in addition to tens of millions in ground lease payments to the city for the lot.
  • These tax revenues will be instrumental in helping to provide Ann Arbor with newly found funds for parks, schools, roads, housing, etc. This is incredibly significant given that most of this income will come from visitors and not having to come from increased taxation on the existing community.
  • TAdditionally, the land and the Sports Illustrated Resort would be owned by the city, which would give the city a very valuable real estate asset worth approximately $150,000,000.
  • The city would have a convention and community center that would be able to compete and beat most of its competing cities, given the unique experiential nature of the project and the spaces created.

Factoid: Forbes and other media sources have citied that the State of Michigan is ranked in the top 3 states for people moving out of the state. This has been an ongoing negative trend over the past years.

Quote from Chris Schroeder:

“We have a lot to be proud of in Ann Arbor, but the State of Michigan and Ann Arbor are fighting to be more recognized and this project is a significant game changer to continue to bring the notoriety that Ann Arbor deserves. When the University of Michigan wins big games, Ann Arbor gets some notoriety, but it is secondary to the University. This project will give Ann Arbor the competitive edge as a city in addition to significant tax income to the city and an influx of income to the community businesses. The majority of this income will come from visitors, which is a major win for Ann Arbor”.