I am interested going to the Memorial Cup in Saginaw next May. Is the arena in a good neighbourhood? Would you go for a walk with kids in that area?
As well, do you have any suggestions for hotel/motel?
At some point (maybe soon if I find time) I was going to put out an "unofficial" Memorial Cup Visitors Guide that will direct people to different parts of the region. For 20+ years now we've marketed ourselves as the Great Lakes Bay Region since everything is like 20-25 min from each other and then you're not just limited to Saginaw. Midland, Bay City, Frankenmuth, Birch Run, Mt. Pleasant all have great options depending on what you are looking for.
If you're looking to book something now, I would suggest the Tittabawassee Rd. area off of I-675. There's tons of options there (Hampton, Fairfield, SpringHill, FourPoints, Holiday Inn) and all should be in good condition and are near restaurants/shopping. If you're looking for more of a resorty feel, check out any of the hotels in Frankenmuth...that town is walkable and one of the biggest tourist spots in the state. The Tittabawassee hotels are about 5min drive to the arena (it's possible they will have a shuttle for the Mem Cup) and Frankenmuth will be about a 15-20min drive to the arena.
As far as I know, the Spirit have not released any information regarding details other than the teams will be lodged in Frankenmuth and the Jolt Event Park will host the "fan-fest" type of activities.
While the arena is downtown in a town known for crime, around the arena is very safe and there are very few (if any) issues down there. The big reason for that is no one lives close to the arena...housing has been pushed back and crime in Saginaw happens where people can get away and hide quickly in rough neighborhoods. There used to be subsidized housing a couple blocks from the arena and those were eliminated years ago and they're now market rate apartments. Downtown is dreadfully missing food/restaurant options but maybe something will pop up before the Cup. There will definitely be a lot of food trucks for the Memorial Cup.