Sports Illustrated Resorts has withdrawn from its planned project at the Lago Mar Crystal Lagoon in Texas City. Sports Hospitality Ventures, which holds the license for SI-branded resorts, ended its involvement after previously announcing a 200-room, six-story resort at the site in January 2024. The development was to include amenities such as a restaurant, beach club, cabanas, and a swim-up island bar.
The resort was intended to be designed by Project Luong of Houston and managed by American Resort Management based in Grand Prairie, with Travel + Leisure as a partner. Although groundbreaking was expected last year, it did not occur.
A source familiar with the project said that Sports Hospitality Ventures stopped communicating with Land Tejas, the developer behind Lago Mar. This is supported by statements from Texas City engineer Kim Golden earlier this year indicating that no applications had been submitted for a resort on the property. The zoning at the site allows for either hotel or townhome development.
Sports Illustrated Resorts began in 2023 through a partnership between Sports Hospitality Ventures and Authentic Brands Group, which owns the magazine’s intellectual property.
The Texas City resort was supposed to anchor a $100 million entertainment district around the lagoon. Existing attractions include Lagoonfest Texas and residential areas. Wan Bridge delivered Crystal View at Lago Mar — a 151-unit townhome project — last year, but no progress was made on the resort component.
Other SI Resort projects have also faced setbacks. In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, plans lost their hotel element; in Mississippi, development is paused due to interest rates; Ann Arbor’s proposal was dropped after local opposition; and an Orlando location is no longer listed on the brand’s website.
Currently, only one SI Resort operates — in the Dominican Republic since 2022. Two more locations are listed as upcoming: Chicago (at Richard Branson’s Virgin Hotel Chicago site) and Nashville.
Meanwhile, The Lagoon Development Company continues expanding its lagoon-based developments across Greater Houston using Crystal Lagoons’ technology. New projects are underway or opening soon in Dayton, Magnolia, Katy and other areas tied to entertainment districts.
