Stadium hotel on track for fall opening

WILSON — The one-of-a-kind stadium hotel under construction in downtown Wilson is on pace to open in the fall, according to BryantCorp President Dan Tracey.

“We’re super excited about it,” Tracey said. “SKA Construction, our general contractor, has been phenomenal. They’re based out of Raleigh and specialize in hospitality and hotels. They’ve been keeping the schedule moving through what is a very unusual pattern of building — building a hotel into a stadium. It’s been a real challenge, but they’ve kept us on schedule.”

The new downtown stadium, where the Wilson Warbirds play, and hotel combination is the only one of its kind in the United States. The only hotel and baseball stadium combination in North America is located in Toronto, Canada.

The Wilson hotel, a Home2 Suites by Hilton, features 116 guest rooms, a bar and breakfast area overlooking the stadium and dedicated conference room space with a balcony overlooking the stadium. Tracey said there is also tenant space available on the second floor for a food and beverage tenant, but nothing is lined up yet. “I’m optimistic we can find a local tenant for that,” he said.

Tracey said the biggest challenge has been working and building at a stadium that is actively operating and hosting baseball games.

“Typically, when you build a hotel you’re building it on a developer-owned and developer-controlled property,” Tracey said. “That was not the case here. We’re building on a city-owned shared piece of property. That’s a challenge logistically. The stadium was on a different, very intense timeline compared to our schedule. We’ve had many, many different service providers and contractors in a tight area. SKA’s been up to that task and keeping us on schedule. Everything’s moving along in a positive way. It really flies by. In order for us to open, we’ve got to be pretty dialed in a month before.”

The unique challenges, Tracey said, are what make a project special.

“We appreciate that you can’t have the one-of-a-kind hotel built into the stadium without those challenges,” he said. “It’s a real logistical project. It’s been a really positive experience. City staff, public works, planning — they’ve made this smoother than we could’ve imagined. They’ve been very accommodating.”

Tracey said that as of Tuesday, June 2, the hotel’s exterior was “99% complete.”

“As of today, we’re at the drywall and painting stage for many of the rooms,” he said. “Next will be the cabinetry and millwork. Then, we’ll install the furniture and fixtures. It’s exactly what you’d expect on a bigger scale project. We also have some signage coming in sometime in the next couple weeks.”

Spring Hope’s Pritchard named GM

The hotel is in its second phase of hiring. He said the company is seeking to hire a sales manager, assistant general manager, facilities engineer and executive housekeeper.

“There will be more job opportunities coming after that,” Tracey said. “We just hired our general manager. His name is Kyle Pritchard. He’s got a background in hospitality. He’s from Spring Hope.”

Tracey said it was important to find someone local to lead the hotel “given the nature of Wilson and this property and integrating into the community.”

“I’m excited to join such a unique project and help build something that serves both visitors and the community,” Pritchard said. “We have an opportunity to create one-of-a-kind experiences for guests, fans and the community.”

Tracey said job listings for the hotel can be found at nexuswilson.com.