- Wyndham will help develop Sports Illustrated Resorts.
- It includes standalone hotels or mixed-use projects.
- First hotel component will open later in 2027.
WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS will help developers build Sports Illustrated Resorts hotels, taking a sports-themed brand into traditional lodging. The brand can be built as standalone hotels or as mixed-use projects with vacation ownership and residences.
Wyndham will provide distribution, marketing, loyalty and development support and will use its industry relationships to find development partners, according to Travel + Leisure Co. Travel + Leisure operates the brand under license from Authentic Brands Group and will lead brand stewardship, mixed-use development and management.
“Sports Illustrated is one of the world’s most iconic lifestyle and entertainment brands, and its connection to sports creates a powerful opportunity in hospitality,” said Geoff Ballotti, Wyndham president and CEO. “We have an opportunity to create immersive, year-round destinations across college towns and major urban markets, anchored in unique experiences, distinctive programming and premier sports-centric events.”
Travel + Leisure President and CEO Michael Brown called the deal the next chapter for the platform and said it creates new opportunities for developers and asset owners. The companies did not disclose fees, hotel counts or brand standards.
Sports anchors new hotels
Pictured is The Anthem Los Angeles Stadium District, Tapestry by Hilton, in Los Angeles.Hilton Worldwide Holdings.Photo credit: Hilton Worldwide Holdings
The Sports Events and Tourism Association reported that 339 million sports travelers generated 124.3 million hotel room nights and $111.2 billion in direct spending in 2025, according to its 2026 report.
Sports Illustrated Resorts is not the only hotel project built around it. Hilton's Tapestry Collection opened The Anthem Hotel beside Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Feb. 12, Secret Los Angeles reported. Sina Hospitality, which owns and operates 35 hotels in six states, has proposed a $180 million sports complex with a hotel and fields for traveling youth tournaments in Colonial Heights, Virginia, Richmond BizSense reported. A developer in Bridgeport, West Virginia, has proposed a hotel and gym for traveling teams, WV MetroNews reported.
The projects tap sports in different ways. The Anthem relies on its location near stadiums. Sina's plan would control the tournament calendar by running the fields. Sports Illustrated Resorts lends a sports media brand to the hotel. The demand also differs. Sports ETA found that participatory sports, mainly youth and amateur events, generated $60.1 billion in direct spending, and spectator sports generated $51.1 billion.
Participatory championships can rotate between host cities, while college regular-season games stay in one place, according to SportsTravel's summary of the report.
Ballotti pointed to college towns and major urban markets, where fan travel follows game calendars the hotel does not control.
Wyndham brings reach. It reports about 8,400 hotels in about 100 countries and more than 873,000 rooms, with a leading presence in economy and midscale. The release calls Sports Illustrated Resorts a differentiated mixed-use platform, a different product from Wyndham's core. It does not say whether the hotels will join Wyndham Rewards, which has more than 126 million members. The program already connects Travel + Leisure's Club Wyndham, Margaritaville Vacation Club and Eddie Bauer Adventure Club to Wyndham hotels, part of a decades-long relationship between the companies.
What owners should watch
Pictured is Sports Illustrated Resorts Chicago in Chicago.Photo credit: Sports Illustrated Resorts
Travel + Leisure’s projects show how it has grown so far. A Chicago project is a conversion of an existing Loop hotel. Another in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, will convert an existing 11-story downtown hotel, WAFB reported. A Nashville, Tennessee, project operates as a vacation ownership resort, WSMV reported, so it says little about hotel returns.
Chicago is due to reach its full brand offering in early 2027. Baton Rouge, the first confirmed resort with a hotel component, is planned to open in phases later in 2027. Baton Rouge will provide the first hotel-specific evidence.
Separately, Choice Hotels International is using its soft brand, Ascend Collection, to strengthen its upscale strategy.
