When Major League Baseball's New York Yankees visit Denver over Memorial Day weekend, The Rally Hotel at McGregor Square will likely be packed, not just with Colorado Rockies fans but with travelers rooting for the Yankees.
"The place will be jammed," said Walter Isenberg, founder and CEO of Denver-based Sage Hospitality Group, which manages The Rally Hotel. "Fans travel. And there are Yankee fans all over the world."
The 182-room property, which opened in 2021, is part of a mixed-use complex adjacent to Coors Field developed by Rockies owner Dick Monfort.
It also represents a growing trend of team owners looking to capture a share of the fast-growing sports tourism market through stadium-adjacent real estate plays.
Walter Isenberg
"Sports team ownership groups are buying adjacent land and doing these kinds of developments," said Isenberg, who cited downtown Los Angeles' L.A. Live complex developed by entertainment company AEG around the Crypto.com Arena as a successful early template of mixed-use development that team owners are now looking to replicate.
The Rally Hotel's status as official hotel of the Colorado Rockies makes the property a destination in its own right. Nods to America's pastime can be found throughout, from baseball-inspired art installations across the property to more subtle elements, such as floor lamps that resemble stadium lights and minibars stocked with stadium staples like peanuts and Cracker Jack.
Hotel guests get access to special Rockies ticket offers and can arrange VIP stadium tours and other exclusive experiences. (The property's Ultimate Baseball Fan Experience package, for example, combines a one-night stay with four tickets and a $50 food and beverage credit.)
The hotel makes sure that baseball isn't the only draw, since half of the Rockies' games are out of town and baseball is a seasonal sport. When the team isn't playing, McGregor Square's plaza hosts movie nights, yoga sessions and performances by the Colorado Symphony. In winter, an ice rink transforms the space.
"You've got to think about the asset as a 365-day-a-year asset," Isenberg said. "You've got to have something that's about more than just baseball."
The convergence of sports and hospitality, or "sportspitality," isn't new. Hotel brands have long leveraged fan loyalty through partnerships and promotions.
Stepping into ownership of these mixed-use hotel complexes enables teams to tap into more of the lucrative global sports tourism business, which market research firm Technavio projects to grow by $701.6 billion from 2025 to 2029.
"I think sports team owners have realized two things," Isenberg said. "One, these developments are a great way to possibly get new fans. And two, it's a great way to boost attendance into your stadium and take advantage of the economics that your team is delivering."
The proximity to a stadium, coupled with exclusive team access, also enables these properties to command higher rates.
"There's a premium placed on location," said Matt Traub, editor of SportsTravel, a magazine published by Travel Weekly parent company Northstar Travel Group. "It's the whole real estate mantra of 'location, location, location.' And being able to be near a sports venue gives them a big built-in advantage."
The Battery Atlanta, a mixed-use project near Truist Park, was developed by Atlanta Braves Holdings, owner of the Atlanta Braves baseball team, and opened in 2017. The complex is home to retail, restaurant and entertainment venues as well as Omni and Aloft hotels.
In 2027, Sage Hospitality Group will add another "sportspitality" property to its portfolio with the Shinola Hotel Indianapolis. Developed in partnership with the Simon family, owner of the Indiana Pacers and Fever basketball teams, the 170-room hotel will connect directly to Gainbridge Fieldhouse via a pedestrian skybridge.
It will also mark the second property from Shinola, which debuted its lifestyle hotel brand in Detroit in 2019.
And with large hotel brands having already seen the value of being connected with major sports franchises and events, more developments are likely on the way.
"You see Marriott Bonvoy doing their big partnership with the NCAA, and Hilton has a partnership with McLaren Formula 1 racing that's very prominent," Traub said. "These big brands want to align themselves with sports properties because they know they can tap into that fan loyalty."
Sports Illustrated Resorts in development
The playbook for sports-focused real estate is also expanding to college towns.
In 2023, Travel + Leisure Co. and Sports Hospitality Ventures, a licensee of the Sports Illustrated media brand, joined forces to launch Sports Illustrated Resorts.
The sports-themed concept targets "universities with devoted fan bases," with each resort complex comprising a full-service hotel, vacation club and residential condos.
A rendering of a Sports Illustrated Resorts complex. Photo Credit: Travel + Leisure Co./Sports Hospitality Ventures
The brand's inaugural resort is currently under development near the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
According to a brand spokesperson, the concept is designed to tap into the "enormous opportunity" within sports tourism, citing data from the Sports Events and Tourism Association showing that Americans took a record 204.9 million trips related to sporting events in 2023, spending $52.2 billion in the sports travel sector.
But beyond close collegiate ties and proximity to sports venues, the resorts also aim to integrate deeply with their communities.
"We're not just talking about partnering with a college or university alone," the spokesperson added. "We want to provide real value to residents through things like public lawn space for events and activities, partnerships with local youth sports organizations, an entertainment venue to showcase local artists and new retail, food and beverage options as well as ongoing philanthropic efforts."