New Hotel Being Built Across the Street From Kinnick Stadium

Kinnick Stadium and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics are getting a new neighbor. Ground was broken last week for a 140-room Courtyard by Marriott.

The new hotel will sit across Melrose from Kinnick Stadium at 901 Melrose Avenue in University Heights. It will be the city's first hotel. Planned amenities include a Graze restaurant on the sixth floor that will be similar to another restaurant Peter Harman owns, Martini's Grille in Burlington. According to this week's Corridor Business Journal, other hotel amenities will include a swimming pool, hot tub, rooftop patio, bar, workout facility, and Starbucks.

One of the owners of the new hotel, Greg Stiltner, says the hotel is being built with the hospital in mind. He told the Iowa City Press-Citizen,

We want to cater to the hospital. We want to create that relationship and make it strong. We’d love to work with them and we’re excited to offer a much needed hotel in that location.

Construction on the new hotel is expected to be complete in the early part of August in 2020. Iowa's first home football game that season is Saturday, September 5 against the University of Northern Iowa. The Iowa State Cyclones visit the following weekend. It's probably too early for reservations, but...