Travel + Leisure Co. (NYSE:TNL), a leading leisure travel and hospitality company, officially opens Sports Illustrated Resorts Nashville today, launching a national hospitality brand built around the games, teams and events fans love. The 185-suite resort on Music Row, one mile from downtown Nashville and the Gulch, is the first of four announced destinations totaling more than 800 suites and units.

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Travel + Leisure Co., a leading leisure travel and hospitality company, officially opens Sports Illustrated Resorts Nashville today, launching a national hospitality brand built around the games, teams and events fans love. The 185-suite resort on Music Row, one mile from downtown Nashville and the Gulch, is the first of four announced destinations totaling more than 800 suites and units.

Travel + Leisure Co., a leading leisure travel and hospitality company, officially opens Sports Illustrated Resorts Nashville today, launching a national hospitality brand built around the games, teams and events fans love. The 185-suite resort on Music Row, one mile from downtown Nashville and the Gulch, is the first of four announced destinations totaling more than 800 suites and units.

Sports Illustrated Resorts launched with its vacation club and is expanding into hotels and condominium residences — with each destination offering its own mix of stays shaped by its city and the fans it draws. Chicago’s full brand offering is expected in spring 2027, followed by a phased opening in Baton Rouge later in 2027 and the brand’s first ground-up resort in Tuscaloosa in 2028. Baton Rouge will be the first property to combine the vacation club, a hotel and condominium residences.

Since its soft opening in September, Sports Illustrated Resorts Nashville has seen Titans and Vanderbilt home-game weekends rank among its busiest, and 95% of guests surveyed after their stay gave top marks to the resort’s signature suite design.

The resort’s first vacation club owners, known as MVPs, represent an all-new base of owners within the Travel + Leisure Co. portfolio and span two generations of fans. More than half are 45 or younger, including one in three between the ages of 26 and 35. Another 36% are 46 to 65, prime years for parents traveling to college campuses for game days, family weekends and move-ins. And the brand’s draw is national: nearly four in five owners live outside Tennessee. College sports travel is a major opportunity for the brand: in a 2025 Travel + Leisure Co. survey of sports travelers, 87% had traveled for a college sporting event in the past three years.

A New Way to Travel for the Game

“Opening Sports Illustrated Resorts Nashville is a milestone for the brand, and the early response tells us we’re onto something,” said Geoff Richards, chief operating officer at Travel + Leisure Co. “Sports are one of the biggest reasons people travel, and fans want a vacation built around that passion. We’re seeing it in who’s buying: a new, younger generation of fans, alongside parents who plan their fall around their kids’ college campuses. Sports bring them all to the same place. Nashville is where it starts, and every resort we open next will take the experience further.”

Travel + Leisure Co. operates Sports Illustrated Resorts under a license from Authentic Brands Group, owner of the Sports Illustrated brand.

“For more than 70 years, Sports Illustrated has brought fans closer to the moments that define the games they love,” said Daniel W. Dienst, Executive Vice Chairman, Tactical Opportunities at Authentic Brands Group. “We’re so proud to watch our partners at Travel + Leisure Co. kick off the roll out of Sports Illustrated Resorts in Nashville and even more excited to watch them execute this unique concept in many other sports destinations across the U.S.”

Athletes on the Roster

Athletes are a core part of the Sports Illustrated Resorts experience, from signature suites to appearances at resort events like tonight’s opening celebration in Nashville. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and owner of LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, Jimmie Johnson, has joined Sports Illustrated Resorts as a brand ambassador. Through the partnership, Johnson will appear at Sports Illustrated Resorts openings, owner events and marquee sports experiences, and create content with the brand.

“I’ve spent my whole career traveling to race weekends, and the best trips were always the ones where family and friends could come along and be part of it,” said Johnson. “Sports Illustrated Resorts is built for exactly that: a home base where fans can share the game, the trip and the time together. I’m proud to be part of it from day one.”

Johnson joins Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis, who partnered with Sports Illustrated Resorts on the Jared Curtis Suite, a one-of-a-kind suite at the Nashville resort inspired by his journey on and off the field. The suite is now available to book.

Where Sports and Vacation Come Together

Sports Illustrated Resorts Nashville offers 185 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites, each with a full kitchen and in-unit laundry, perfect for gameday trips, college visits or weekend getaways.

Signature amenities are designed to bring fans together before, during and after the game:

  • A fitness center, SI Fit, inspired by the training and performance mindset of elite athletes

  • A sports bar for watching games and gathering with fellow fans

  • A game room with interactive entertainment for guests of all ages

  • A tailgate deck for gameday celebrations and events

  • A Sports Concierge to connect guests with local games, sporting events and destination experiences

  • A through line of Sports Illustrated design and content woven throughout the resort

MVP benefits include a VIP Ticket Concierge, an annual experience credit toward concerts, sporting events and festivals, exclusive event drops released throughout the year, and a one-year Sports Illustrated magazine subscription. Through Varsity Pass, owners can book stays at 45 destinations across the country, with more than 3,600 additional resorts worldwide available through RCI Exchange.

Sports Illustrated Resorts Nashville is open to all travelers for nightly and weekend stays, with vacation club owners receiving priority access to suites and dates. To book a stay or learn more, visit www.sportsillustratedresorts.com and follow Sports Illustrated Resorts on Instagram @SIResorts.

About Sports Illustrated Resorts

Where champions come to stay. Inspired by the most iconic name in sports and designed for the fans who live for it, Sports Illustrated Resorts is a new hospitality brand where the season never ends. From college towns alive with tradition to cities charged with culture and competition, every destination blends the Sports Illustrated legacy with distinctive stays, premium experiences and the unmistakable thrill of game day, across its vacation club, hotels and condominium residences. Signature spaces like SI Fit, partnerships with athletes and exclusive access to marquee sporting events bring fans closer to the game than ever. Sports Illustrated Resorts is operated by Travel + Leisure Co. under a license from Authentic Brands Group, with a growing portfolio of destinations across the U.S. Learn more at sportsillustratedresorts.com and follow @SIResorts on Instagram.

About Travel + Leisure Co.

Travel + Leisure Co. (NYSE:TNL) is a leading leisure travel company, providing more than six million vacations to travelers around the world every year. The company operates a portfolio of vacation ownership, travel club, and lifestyle travel brands designed to meet the needs of the modern leisure traveler, whether they’re traversing the globe or staying a little closer to home. With hospitality and responsible tourism at its heart, the company’s nearly 19,000 dedicated associates around the globe help the company achieve its mission to put the world on vacation. Learn more at travelandleisureco.com.

About Sports Illustrated

For over 70 years, Sports Illustrated (SI) has been recognized for shaping modern culture at the intersection of sports, lifestyle, and entertainment. SI is a 360-degree platform that unites athletes, teams and fans worldwide through quality content, innovative digital experiences, unforgettable events, and original products. Its award-winning media arm brings powerful storytelling to life through probing profiles and up-to-date news on SI.com, across social media platforms, and through its renowned print magazine whose cover is widely regarded as the most coveted space in sports media. The most trusted name in sports transcends media through SI Tickets, a fan-first ticketing platform, SI Resorts, the ultimate destination for active lifestyles & sports enthusiasts, SI Studios, the brand’s home for film, TV, and long form podcasts, and more. SI brings its unique perspective to marquee events and captivating brand activations including “SI The Party”, Club SI, the Sportsperson of the Year Awards, SI Swimsuit Launch Weekend, and the SI Circuit Series.

For more information, visit SI.com.

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