Tuscaloosa Council Moves Forward On Design Phase For Saban Center, New Event Venue

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa City Council on Tuesday voted to in favor proceeding with the design phases for both the proposed Saban Discovery Center and the Tuscaloosa Event Center at the current site of the Tuscaloosa News building.

District 4 Councilor Lee Busby was the only vote against the measure, saying he would have preferred considering the design phases for each project separately.

"I think this is a premier opportunity for our district," said District 1 Councilor Matthew Wilson, whose district includes the site of the two projects. "We're looking forward to all of Tuscaloosa realizing the possibilities in our district."

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The final design phase of the project remains on schedule after passing and is expected to continue until September 2023.

As Patch previously reported, The Saban Discovery Center was made possible by donations from Nick and Terry Saban and their nonprofit — Nick's Kids Foundation.

The Saban Center 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, while also bringing together community organizations such as Children's Hands-On Museum (CHOM) and the Tuscaloosa Children's Theatre.

Conversely, the adjacent event center's main ballroom was initially expected to be 20,000 square feet, but after a study was conducted by Johnson Consulting, the firm concluded that 20,000 square feet would not be conducive for large sporting events like basketball and volleyball tournaments — a sector that local tourism officials have focused on growing.

ALSO READ: Tuscaloosa Tourism & Sports Reports $32M Economic Impact In 2021

This resulted in debate shifting toward a larger facility to host such events.

According to Johnson Consulting, an analysis of the economic impact of lost events for the City of Tuscaloosa from 2020 until the present comes out to a loss of $603,158 in total investment, equating to $56.7 million in economic impact and $836,401 in tax revenue for the city.

Even with a 20,000-square-foot event center ballroom, the firm said it would still have the capability to generate 30,000 room nights on its own. Johnson Consulting also recommended the event center be built adjacent to The Saban Discovery Center to optimize the utilization and economic impact of the site.

City leaders expect to bid the project out in October 2023, before construction begins the following December.

The official opening is tentatively set for October 2025.

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