Tuscaloosa Mayor Gives Saban Center Timeline, Touts Record Surplus

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox on Tuesday reported the highest general fund surplus in the city's history while also providing important updates regarding the ongoing Saban Center project.

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As part of his capital projects budget recommendations for the coming fiscal year, Maddox said a portion of the city's surplus of nearly $21 million would be put toward the city's reserves, while the rest will be invested in the city's infrastructure and quality-of-life projects.

Maddox then explained that 78% of the surplus came from city revenue streams, while 22% came from savings on the expenditure side.

When discussing the city's numerous partnerships for the Saban Center, Maddox revealed that design work is expected to be complete on the state-of-the-art educational facility by January 2025, followed by a groundbreaking that April.

As of the publication of this story, Maddox says the Saban Center is on track to open in June 2027.

Construction of the Saban Center will be made possible by $15 million secured from private donors, including Nick and Terry Saban, along with $25 million from the state and $42 million from Elevate Tuscaloosa.

The Saban family initially gifted $1.25 million toward the project when it was first announced in 2019, before the Nick's Kids Foundation pledged $1 million in 2022.

"There is nothing like this across the nation," Maddox said of the plans to turn the former Tuscaloosa News site into a large-scale hub for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for K-12 students.

Once open, the Saban Center will also be the new home of the Tuscaloosa Children's Theatre and IGNITE, formerly Children's Hands-On Museum, in addition to incorporating other public-private educational partnerships from around the state.

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