City Of Tuscaloosa's New River District Park Officially Opens

TUSCALOOSA, AL — City of Tuscaloosa officials and the First Lady of Crimson Tide football Terry Saban were on hand Thursday for a ribbon cutting to commemorate the official opening of the new $7.5 million River District Park.

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Funded through Elevate Tuscaloosa, the River District Park includes an outdoor stage, green space, river-viewing areas along the Black Warrior River and a plaza. Once the sun goes down, the park also features color-changing RBG lights throughout the park and under the Hugh R. Thomas Bridge.

Construction of the River District Park first began in November of 2021.

“I look at this park and I can see children up here acting in 'The Little Mermaid,'” Saban said. “I can see people on these steps watching the river go by and having a picnic and then walking up the hill to the new Saban Center, which will be an elite comprehensive children’s discovery center where children of all ages can spend the whole day.”

The Saban Center — planned for the current site of the Tuscaloosa News building — is expected to be built around a wide range of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math (STEAM) offerings for children, similar to Birmingham's McWane Science Center. The Saban Center will also aim to bring together community organizations such as Children's Hands-On Museum (CHOM) and the Tuscaloosa Children's Theatre.

City leaders expect to bid out the Saban Center project in October 2023, before construction begins the following December. The official opening is tentatively set for October 2025.

ALSO READ: Tuscaloosa Council Moves Forward On Saban Center, New Event Venue

“Today is about a team effort, about a community through Elevate Tuscaloosa working with so many partners that I see out here, and working with the extraordinarily generous family that is the Saban family,” Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said.

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