Proposal Withdrawn!! 💨💨
After the “Informational Session,” and another rough news cycle for the once iconic brand, SI Resorts officially announced this morning they are pulling the plug on their Sports-Themed Resort and Timeshare Condo Complex.
On the fast track? New FOIA details Planning Dept doings back in Dec. 😳
Documents show a draft of a Property Owner Authorization Letter sent 4 days before announcement of the Community Meeting, and a Project Schedule sent 3 days after the announcement. 🚂 💨💨💨
“Layoffs imperil Sports Illustrated as owner, publisher battle over money” 📰 (Updated)
From Washington Post reporter Ben Strauss: “Much of the staff of Sports Illustrated, and possibly all remaining writers and editors, received layoff notices Friday, which essentially could spell the end of a publication that for decades was the gold standard of sports journalism.” Hear more from Ben on a new NPR interview here.
Writers Guild also makes statement on X about “mass layoffs.”
Information Session Scheduled Jan. 29 for Potential Sports Illustrated Conference Center in Ann Arbor
January 16, 2024 - An informational session is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at Larcom City Hall for community members to learn about a potential Sports Illustrated (SI) Resorts to develop a sports-themed hotel and conference center on the city-owned Kline lot in Ann Arbor.
SI Resorts still hasn’t built anything. Mississippi $410M Mega Project w/ $10M in Bonds and Tax Breaks gone Missin’
A recent news report from D’Iberville, Mississippi puts a new perspective on how asset-light a major project in the heart of Downtown Ann Arbor could be. Residents just learned of a $200,000,000 Bond request from the City for the development. Join Gunther for his first ever on-location report as he hits the road.
New FOIA Released with Proposed Deal Term Sheet!!
$200,000,000 in city bonds requested for Ann Arbor’s sports-themed downtown hotel, an Executive Summary of the transaction details, and a Memo of Recommendation drafted to City Council by City Administrator Dohoney and marked up by Chris Schroeder (CEO of Sports Illustrated Resorts) and Odis Jones (CEO of Cobblestone). 🧾 📝
Save the Dates! City Calls a Mid-January-ish Meeting
During the 12/18/23 City Council Meeting, City Administrator Dohoney noted during his communication that:
“Just to mention that we’re planning to hold a community meeting sometime around the middle of January with regards to the Sports Illustrated Hotel Project.”
As it wasn’t reported in the local news, Gunther is your synthetically suited up truth diver, ready to plunge into the depths of City Hall and fish out the facts. 📡 📺
Double Header Features Two Michiganders!
⚾ On Wed July 12, 2023, City Administrator Dohoney sent an email stating: ”I am setting up an offsite meeting at a location that will be identified shortly. SI (Sports Illustrated) is moving around the country identifying cities where they can develop 4/5 star sports themed hotels. In some cities they are including convention meeting space. They are curious about what is possible in Ann Arbor. They prefer a downtown site or if that can’t work, and site near the Big House. SI has contracted with Cobblestone Development, a firm out of Texas. I have a professional and personal relationship with the CEO of Cobblestone. It is through discussions with him that this meeting came about.” ⚾
Ann Arbor’s “Unsolicited” Sports Illustrated Resort is now featured on Travel + Leisure’s website!
🎉 Wyndham Destinations, the world’s largest timeshare company and owner of Travel + Leisure, is now proudly featuring a different rendering of the sports-themed resort timeshare condo development featuring a big food court and clubhouse w/ vintage memorabilia - perched majestically on public property (the Kline’s Lot) at the corner of Ashley and Williams Street in the heart of downtown. 🕗
What is BotGate?!
😳 Well... Sports Illustrated recently found itself in a “bot” of trouble when it was “revealed that the magazine was using AI-generated authors and content for their articles,” by Maggie Harrison at Futurism.
Why? “To pump out AI-generated buying guides that are monetized by affiliate links to products that provide a financial kickback when readers click them.” 🤖 📖