Pullman Hotels Needed to Accommodate Future Tourism Boom

The Pullman Community Center on the Far South Side has been chosen by the nonprofits Amateur Athletic Union and Chicago Sports Alliance to serve as its Midwest hub for amateur sporting events for the next five years. Photo credit: By Wendell Hutson
The Pullman Community Center on the Far South Side has been chosen by the nonprofits Amateur Athletic Union and Chicago Sports Alliance to serve as its Midwest hub for amateur sporting events for the next five years. Photo credit: By Wendell Hutson

Pullman Hotels Needed to Accommodate Future Tourism Boom

BY WENDELL HUTSON, Contributing Writer

Now that the Pullman Community Center is the Midwest headquarters for the Amateur Athletic Union and Chicago Sports Alliance national sporting events, Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) said hotels are needed in his ward.

“Tourism is about to take off on the Far South Side and a hotel is now needed to accommodate the droves of people expected to come to Pullman,” explained Beale, whose ward includes the 135,000-square-foot Pullman Community Center at 10355 S. Woodlawn Ave. Beale said as it stands now, tourists coming to Pullman would have to go to either, “Hyde Park or the south suburbs to find a hotel.” But added, “I don’t want any money leaving my neighborhood.”

While declining to say which hotel operators he has met with already, Beale told the Citizen that he’s been pursuing a hotel deal for quite some time and expects to attract one or more hotels to his ward this year.

“It is definitely a long-term project I have been working on. I want to ensure that when people come to Pullman to attend sporting events at the Pullman Community Center (PCC) or visit the many historic attractions in Pullman like the National Monument or the Pullman Porters Museum that they have somewhere close to stay,” added Beale.

The PCC deal is expected to generate more interest in youth sporting events, said Jo Mirza, national treasurer for the AAU, which he said is the largest licensed event operator. In collaboration with the Chicago Sports Alliance, the AAU will now organize and operate tournaments, sporting leagues, sports clinics, and year-round programs that Mirza said would attract athletes and spectators from the community, neighboring areas and several Midwest states.

“We want to bring sporting events to urban neighborhoods like Pullman and give our young people a chance to compete in organized sporting events,” Mirza told the Citizen. “All youth that participate in our events are AAU members, but we hope to create opportunities from this partnership for all youth to be able to participate regardless if they are a member or not.”

Beale, who said he is a huge baseball fan, said a baseball and basketball tournament occurred late, last month at the PCC under the new deal, and that ultimately, these events would boost tourism on the Far South Side.

“This five-year agreement is going to be a long lasting relationship. This partnership is going to bring more people to the community and it underscores the importance of a hotel,” said Beale. “There’s going to be people coming here from all over the country to participate in these tournaments and there’s no place close for them to stay.”

The closest hotel to Pullman is the Baymont Inn & Suites, 510 East End Ave. in Calumet City, which is 5.8 miles away. And the closest Chicago hotel is the Hyatt Place Chicago, 5225 S. Harper Ave., which is 8.1 miles away in Hyde Park.

But not to be confused with the two, there’s a difference between a hotel and a motel.

A hotel is an establishment that provides accommodations, meals and other services for a short-time basis, while a motel is considered a type of establishment, which is designed primarily for customers not staying overnight or several days, but checking out the same day. For example, the Royal Castle, 45 W. 103rd St. in Roseland, is a motel and not a hotel because it has hourly rates.

Not far from the PCC is Gatley Park, 744 E. 103rd St., where an indoor-track is under construction and will be used for youth activities.

One ambitious goal Beale said he is seeking for his ward is a casino.

“Can you imagine the possibilities for the Far South Side if a casino is built nearby? We’re talking about Metra stations already in Pullman and the Bishop Ford Expressway at our front door, so transportation getting this way is no problem,” added Beale. “We’re hot right now and there’s more to come so stay tuned.”

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