2 hotels and restaurants coming near new Henrico sports facility

State of play: Shamin broke ground last week on a Residence Inn that will be followed by a Home2 Suites hotel, collectively offering 225 rooms, per NBC12.

• Shamin Hotels CEO Neil Amin also told NBC12 he's hoping to partner with a local operator to open a restaurant that's "authentic and local."
• Both are expected to open in 2026.

Fun fact: Shamin owns and operates around 65 hotels on the East Coast, with the majority in the Richmond area.

• These two hotels will be their 21st and 22nd in Henrico.

The big picture: Henrico Sports & Events Center opened in October and hosted more than 100,000 visitors in its first four months, according to the county.

• Sports tourism — youth athletes and their families traveling to compete in youth sports tournaments — is by far the biggest driver of tourism to the Richmond region.

• For the last two years,before the center opened, Henrico has taken nearly half of all tourism spending in the seven localities that make up the region.

What's next: Housing is also planned around the sports center, including 400 condos or townhouses and hundreds of apartments, per the Times-Dispatch.

• The first 275 apartments should be available this fall.